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The report argues for a 'fair share' approach to renewable energy siting to replace traditional state-level preemption, which often burdens rural communities. It outlines core principles—such as allowing communities to opt out after meeting a state-assigned target and ensuring all regions contribute—and analyzes how similar mandates in affordable housing (e.g., in Massachusetts and New Jersey) have increased supply despite local resistance. The authors identify key differences between energy and housing, such as the larger physical footprint and specific resource potential of energy projects, and provide a roadmap for policy design and implementation.

The document outlines how states can leverage billions of dollars in federal funding to support the transition to zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs). It categorizes funding opportunities into manufacturing, procurement, charging infrastructure, workforce development, emissions monitoring, and state planning, providing specific program details, eligibility, and strategic next steps for state officials.

The blueprint proposes a three-goal layered regulatory strategy to reduce oil and gas methane emissions: achieving immediate reductions via equipment and work practice standards, implementing compliance and emissions reporting, and continuously improving for deeper cuts. It emphasizes the use of OGMP 2.0 standards for MRV and suggests that import standards can be used to align foreign supplier emissions with domestic requirements.

The document highlights superhot rock geothermal as a high-density, zero-emission energy source that could significantly exceed California's current electricity needs while utilizing existing oil and gas sector expertise.

The document identifies critical infrastructure barriers to the clean energy transition and details CATF's strategies to overcome them through policy advocacy, research, and stakeholder engagement, requesting $12 million in funding over three years to support these efforts.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) has launched the Climate Equity and the Clean Energy Transition Project to address the historical trend of placing clean energy infrastructure in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, which often exacerbates existing injustices. The project aims to move from adversarial relationships to cooperative engagement between environmental justice communities, the energy sector, and climate advocates. Key activities include on-site community research, analyzing best practices for clean energy siting to protect public health, and developing a roadmap to modernize federal government programs and budgets to make them more accessible to underserved populations. Additionally, CATF is piloting an online capacity-building tool for community engagement and hosting workshops with environmental justice organizations to redefine decision-making processes and address air quality health impacts. The project focuses on various U.S. rural, tribal, and urban locations, including the Navajo Nation and the Ironbound Community, to produce recommendations for equitable project development and federal program implementation.

The document highlights the environmental and health impacts of routine gas flaring in the US, noting that 538 billion cubic feet of gas was vented or flared in 2019. It argues that routine flaring is avoidable through better infrastructure planning and technology, citing New Mexico and Colorado as regulatory precedents. The text emphasizes the disproportionate health burden on environmental justice and tribal communities, specifically mentioning increased rates of preterm birth in high-flaring regions of Texas.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is expanding its U.S. state policy program to help states implement federal climate funding and regulations, and to pass state-level policies such as clean energy standards. The program aims to address barriers like budget cuts and political headwinds to propel the U.S. toward a net-zero economy, requiring an annual budget of approximately $20 million.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) used the U.S. EPA's CO-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) version 4.0 to model the health effects of 2023 diesel emissions from highway and off-highway sectors. The methodology employs a damage function approach to translate emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide into premature mortality, hospital admissions, and economic costs. For 2023, the model estimated premature deaths from diesel exhaust to be between 3,900 and 8,800, a decrease from the 2016 range of 6,300 to 14,200. Additionally, using a 2015 California Air Resources Board risk factor, CATF estimated that 2023 diesel particulate concentrations of 0.26 ug/m3 result in a national risk of 228 lifetime cancers per million people, totaling nearly 80,000 cancer cases.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) recommends that the DOE prioritize a limited number of large-scale hydrogen hubs (4 to 6) to avoid program dilution and maximize industrial learning. CATF emphasizes the need for full lifecycle analysis (LCA) to measure greenhouse gas intensity, noting that natural gas with carbon capture can reach 1.5 to 2.0 kgCO2e/kgH2, while solar-powered electrolyzers range from 0.96 to 2.52 kgCO2e/kgH2 when upstream emissions are included. The document argues for prioritizing 'difficult-to-electrify' sectors such as heavy-duty trucking, marine shipping, and heavy industry. To ensure equity, CATF suggests requiring comprehensive community environmental health assessments and implementing inclusive engagement strategies to protect disadvantaged communities from industrial pollution.

The document examines the role of hydrogen fuel cells in decarbonizing heavy-duty trucking, noting their efficiency advantage over internal combustion engines and suitability for long-haul operations compared to battery electric vehicles (BEVs). It identifies California as the primary region for adoption due to supportive policies, but highlights critical barriers including high hydrogen costs, infrastructure gaps, and the financial instability of FCEV startups like Nikola and Hyzon.

The document highlights superhot rock geothermal as a scalable, low-land-footprint energy source that could significantly exceed New Mexico's current electricity needs. It argues that the technology can leverage existing oil and gas expertise to facilitate a just energy transition while helping the state reach its 100% zero-carbon goal by 2045.

Since the 2018 45Q reform, 84 carbon management projects have been announced in the U.S., with a significant surge in 2021. The majority of these projects are industrial-sector initiatives utilizing saline storage, though regional infrastructure in the Midwest is enabling ethanol projects. The power sector accounts for 23% of projects, primarily natural gas and coal plants, while only one large-scale Direct Air Capture plant is planned.

The report assesses California's path to a net-zero carbon economy by 2045, specifically examining the necessity of 'clean firm power'—zero-carbon electricity that is available on demand regardless of weather. Using three different optimization models (RESOLVE, urbs, and GenX), the authors find that relying solely on wind, solar, and batteries would require nearly 500 GW of capacity and increase wholesale electricity rates by approximately 65%. In contrast, integrating 25-40 GW of clean firm power—such as nuclear, geothermal, or gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS)—can maintain costs similar to today's levels (around 9 cents/kWh) while significantly reducing the land and transmission infrastructure needed. The report concludes that a diverse portfolio of clean firm resources is the most cost-effective way to ensure grid reliability during extended periods of low renewable output, known as 'dunkelflaute'.

The document provides a detailed inventory of US state-level legislative and executive actions to achieve carbon-free or renewable energy targets, alongside a timeline of voluntary net-zero and carbon reduction commitments from major utility providers.

The report evaluates alternative financing for California's high-voltage transmission expansion needed for its 2045 clean energy goals. It finds that a Public-Private Partnership (PPP)-Lease model could save ratepayers up to $3 billion annually, or $123 billion over 40 years, by utilizing low-cost public debt and competitive procurement.

The document argues that traditional investor-owned utility (IOU) financing for transmission projects risks increasing consumer rates and proposes public financing as a lower-cost alternative. Research focused on California indicates that a "lease-type" public-private partnership could save ratepayers up to $3 billion annually, or $123 billion over 40 years, by utilizing low-cost public debt, reducing taxes, and maintaining private sector operational efficiency. The brief outlines several public financing mechanisms, such as public bonds and loans, and provides policy recommendations for other states to implement similar cost-saving reforms, including the use of credit enhancements and the designation of state-level coordinators for high-priority transmission lines.

The document outlines a collaborative journalism initiative focused on the climate emergency, providing a list of republishable stories, social media strategies, and guidelines for partner outlets.

The document examines the application of environmental taxes, fees, and charges across different sectors in the U.S., including water, air, solid waste, and hazardous waste management. It distinguishes between revenue-raising taxes and cost-offsetting fees, noting that while many instruments are designed to recover administrative costs, some—such as the federal tax on ozone-depleting chemicals and certain state-level hazardous waste taxes—have demonstrated significant incentive effects in reducing pollution. The report also details specific state-level experiments with variable-rate waste collection and wetland compensation fees.

The authors argue that the current RED III methodology over-credits manure-based biomethane by using unrealistic baseline assumptions for manure management and incorrectly treating manure as a zero-emission waste feedstock. They call for a revision of the default avoided-emissions credit and a reassessment of system boundaries to include upstream livestock emissions.