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Between January and May 15, 2026, over 100 companies backed by asset management firms and venture capital notified labor departments of layoffs, resulting in nearly 13,000 job losses. The report highlights how private equity models—characterized by leveraged buyouts, dividend recapitalizations, and market consolidation—contribute to plant closures and bankruptcies. Specific examples include Walgreens, where Sycamore Partners added $13.3 billion in debt, and Albertsons, where Cerberus Capital Management received a $1 billion dividend payout despite ongoing layoffs. The report also notes a high concentration of layoffs in the manufacturing sector (34%) and discusses state-level legislative efforts in New Jersey, Maine, California, and Michigan to mandate severance pay and extend notice periods.

The document examines the impact of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) on climate change litigation (CCL) in the US. It finds that jurisdictions with anti-SLAPP protections are more likely to attract corporate CCL, suggesting that legal protections for free speech facilitate the development of climate law.

RMI's analysis of more than 200 utility PIMs reveals a strong preference for 'upside-only' reward structures over penalties, with Return on Equity (ROE) and shared savings being the most common and highest-paying designs. While utilities consistently achieve targets for percentage adder-based and equity-focused PIMs, the report suggests that targets may be set too low. Most PIMs are short-term experiments lasting two to three years, except for fuel cost-sharing and distributed energy resource mechanisms, which often lack end dates to provide regulatory certainty.

The Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed nearly eight million affordable homes and found that 79.1% were located in counties experiencing at least one week's worth of heat alerts in 2024. The report highlights that people of color, older adults, and individuals with disabilities are disproportionately affected due to substandard housing, the urban heat island effect, and energy insecurity. Key recommendations include increasing funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), implementing cooling inspection standards for subsidized homes, and updating building codes to improve heat resilience.

The analysis finds that approximately 2.5 million people and 1.4 million homes in the contiguous U.S. are at risk from a severe coastal flood by 2050 under current global carbon reduction commitments. Florida, New York, and New Jersey are the most affected states. The report highlights that older adults are disproportionately exposed, with 540,000 people aged 65 and older living in at-risk areas.

C-PACE programs have provided $9 billion in financing for energy efficiency in 25 US states and cities, but most were established before embodied carbon data was available. The briefing proposes that C-PACE administrators update guidelines to classify low-embodied-carbon materials as "energy improvements," utilizing tools like Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Whole Building Life Cycle Assessments. To incentivize this shift, the author suggests increasing financing limits for projects that demonstrate embodied carbon reduction. RMI is facilitating a working group through 2025 to develop nationwide best practices for integrating embodied carbon into C-PACE guidelines.

The document provides examples of climate progress to counter pessimism, noting that European Union emissions fell 8% in 2023 and the UK has reduced emissions by over half since 1990. It highlights China's rapid adoption of electric vehicles and its achievement of 2030 renewable targets six years early. In the United States, the text notes that carbon-pricing programs and renewable energy mandates persist at the state level despite federal policy shifts.

The document analyzes the emergence of 'equity PIMs'—regulatory tools that provide financial rewards or penalties to utilities based on their performance regarding equity metrics. It identifies seven US jurisdictions using these tools to address energy poverty and the inequitable distribution of clean energy benefits. The report distinguishes between program-based and outcome-based PIMs, discusses the role of reporting metrics and scorecards as precursors to financial incentives, and argues that PIMs must be part of a broader regulatory strategy including cost-control reforms and low-income assistance to be effective.

The U.S. electric school bus (ESB) market is expanding, driven by the EPA's Clean School Bus Program and state-level mandates. As of December 2022, 895 districts had committed to 5,612 ESBs. While upfront costs remain three to four times higher than diesel buses, ESBs offer lower operational costs, zero tailpipe emissions, and potential grid resilience through bidirectional charging. The market currently features 24 models across Type A, C, and D buses, with a growing emphasis on repowering existing fleets to reduce costs and waste. Successful deployment requires coordinated planning between districts, utilities, and manufacturers to manage charging infrastructure and specialized maintenance training.

The document examines the transition to electric semi-trucks in the U.S., noting that while they offer significant public health benefits and lower total cost of ownership, high upfront costs and limited charging infrastructure remain hurdles. It details how federal legislation, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, aims to accelerate cost parity and infrastructure deployment.

The brief asserts that Defendants had actual knowledge of the catastrophic risks of fossil fuel combustion as early as the late 1950s, confirmed through internal research and industry-wide consensus. It details a coordinated strategy to manufacture doubt via public relations campaigns, funding of contrarian scientists, and the use of 'shadow groups' to undermine scientific consensus. The document highlights a contradiction where companies protected their own physical assets from sea-level rise while publicly denying such risks. Finally, it argues that current 'net zero' pledges and natural gas promotions constitute ongoing greenwashing and deception.

The document outlines the transition of the U.S. trucking industry toward electric semi-trucks, highlighting public health benefits and lower total cost of ownership against challenges like high upfront costs and limited charging infrastructure. It details how federal laws, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as well as state-level initiatives, are working to achieve cost parity with diesel vehicles and expand charging networks.

In late January 2022, a federal judge revoked a Biden administration oil and gas lease sale offering over 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico. The court ruled that the Department of Interior failed to adequately assess the climate impacts of the drilling. The sale was challenged by a coalition including Friends of the Earth and Earthjustice, who argued that the project would exacerbate systemic racism in frontline communities and threaten endangered species such as Bryde’s and Rice’s whales.

The document defines adaptation and resilience professionals as those integrating future climate conditions into their daily work, noting that such roles span for-profit, academic, government, and nonprofit sectors. It highlights a lack of standardized Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) codes for these roles, which complicates accurate counting, though it notes the U.S. adaptation and resilience industry was valued at $2.4 billion in 2019. The text categorizes the workforce into five roles—practitioner, service or tool provider, funder, policy maker, and advocate—and calls for updated Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) systems to better track this growing workforce.

The Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) is a regional program designed to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector by limiting total emissions and requiring fuel distributors to pay into a fund. This fund could generate an estimated $68 billion over ten years for participating states, including Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. The document highlights that rural residents, who drive more than 13,000 miles annually—over 20% above the regional average—stand to save up to twice as much per capita as urban residents by switching to electric vehicles (EVs). To support this transition, the author suggests higher purchase incentives for low- and moderate-income drivers, expanded rural charging infrastructure, and the growth of vanpools and paratransit services. Additionally, the document emphasizes the need for climate-resilient infrastructure, citing the damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene in Vermont as a precedent for the increasing intensity of storms in the region.

The document outlines the technical approaches used to estimate children's exposure to chlorpyrifos and PFAS, the process for tracking children's product recalls, and the use of EPA Regulatory Impact Analyses to quantify the health benefits lost when air pollution standards were weakened or repealed.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute criticizes the U.S. decision to exit the Paris Agreement, noting that the formal exit date is set for November 4, 2020. Despite this federal withdrawal, the document highlights a surge in subnational commitments to 100 percent clean energy, with one in four Americans now living in such areas. It specifically identifies the 'We Are Still In' coalition and the U.S. Climate Alliance as key drivers of this momentum, alongside corporate commitments through the RE100 program.

The analysis finds that Latino, Asian American, and African American residents in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are exposed to significantly higher levels of vehicle-related PM2.5 pollution than white residents. The report highlights that white residents comprise 85% of those in the lowest pollution areas, while people of color are overrepresented in the most polluted census tracts, often located near major highways in urban centers. The document argues for targeted investments in clean transportation, such as electric vehicles and buses, to reduce these environmental inequities.

The Union of Concerned Scientists finds that Asian American, Latino, and African American residents in New York State are exposed to significantly higher levels of vehicle-derived PM2.5 pollution than white residents. The highest concentrations are found in New York City, particularly in the West Bronx, where pollution is linked to severe health risks including cardiovascular disease and asthma. The document argues that these inequities result from historical land-use and transportation decisions and recommends prioritizing electric vehicle infrastructure, cleaner fuels, and expanded public transit in the most burdened communities.

The document details a transition in U.S. energy policy from renewable portfolio standards to Clean Electricity Standards (CES), which allow for a diverse range of zero-carbon technologies, including nuclear and carbon capture. It provides a comprehensive list of states and utility companies that have enacted or pledged 80-100% carbon-free electricity targets, noting that these commitments collectively cover approximately 38% of U.S. electricity sales and 31% of national utility CO2 emissions.