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In 2020, the United States had over 4.1 million climate jobs, though the total number fell by eight percent that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Energy efficiency was the largest sector with 2.1 million jobs, followed by energy transmission, distribution, and storage with 763,000 jobs. Renewable energy supported 504,600 jobs, and clean transportation (vehicles and fuels) supported 364,300 jobs. The document also notes the emergence of adaptation and resilience jobs, with the American Society of Adaptation Professionals representing members employing over 100,000 people. Future growth potential is significant, with estimates that achieving 50 to 70 percent renewable energy by 2030 could create 500,000–600,000 jobs in solar, wind, and battery storage.

The Union of Concerned Scientists recommends strategic investments in USDA conservation programs, agricultural research, and debt relief for underserved producers to help the US reach its 2030 and 2050 climate goals. Key recommendations include $4 billion for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and $9 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), both of which are currently oversubscribed. The brief also calls for $500 million each for SARE and AFRI to address research gaps in agroecology and systems science, $50 million for USDA Climate Hubs, and at least $200 million for Conservation Technical Assistance to support the adoption of climate-beneficial practices.

As of August 2021, fewer than 1% of U.S. school buses are electric, with adoption heavily concentrated in California and suburban areas. While 33 states have committed to electric buses, the report emphasizes that targeted public funding is essential to ensure these benefits reach vulnerable communities and rural areas, which currently lag in deployment despite the health risks posed by diesel emissions to students.

As of December 2021, 1,828 electric school buses were committed across 36 US states, representing a 57% increase since June 2021. California is the primary leader in adoption, holding nearly half of all commitments. While adoption correlates with high median household income, it is more evenly distributed across different poverty levels. The report notes that the vast majority of the US school bus fleet (95%) still relies on diesel, and that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has allocated $5 billion over five years to accelerate the transition to lower-emission buses.

Phosmet is a U.S. registered pesticide used in 40 states, primarily on orchards and grapes, and is currently under registration review. It is associated with serious health effects, including cancer, neurodevelopmental harm, and reproductive toxicity, with exposure occurring via food, drinking water, and occupational contact. The pesticide is applied to a significant percentage of several common crops, including peaches (55%) and nectarines (50%).

The report finds that without action to reduce emissions, outdoor workers in the US will face a three- to fourfold increase in exposure to dangerous heat (heat index above 100°F) by midcentury, putting up to $55.4 billion in annual earnings at risk. It highlights that Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino workers are disproportionately represented in outdoor occupations and will bear a heavier burden of these losses. The authors argue that current voluntary heat guidelines are insufficient and call for the enactment of the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Prevention Act of 2021 to establish mandatory, enforceable federal heat safety standards.

This policy brief by RMI argues that federal incentives are necessary to help electric cooperatives (co-ops) retire aging coal plants and transition to renewable energy, which would drive significant economic development in rural US communities.

The report argues that private equity ownership of nursing homes often leads to reduced staffing, higher patient mortality, and decreased quality of care due to profit-seeking tactics and opaque corporate structures. It highlights specific firms like Formation Capital, GI Partners, and Portopiccolo Group, noting their roles in facility acquisitions and associated controversies regarding COVID-19 outbreaks and fraudulent billing.

The report examines Roark Capital's extensive portfolio of fast-food franchises, highlighting a pattern of wage and hour violations across brands like Dunkin' Donuts, Sonic Drive-In, and Jimmy John's. It argues that Roark faces significant legal liability due to a 2020 court ruling on joint employer status and operational risks stemming from labor shortages caused by poverty wages. Additionally, the document details Roark's lobbying efforts through Inspire Brands and the National Restaurant Association to oppose federal minimum wage increases.

The document analyzes the dual potential of autonomous vehicles (AVs) to serve as a climate solution or an environmental liability. While AVs could reduce emissions through electrification, platooning, and shared transit, the proliferation of single-occupancy AVs risks increasing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and urban sprawl. The brief emphasizes that achieving climate goals requires integrating AVs into multimodal, electric urban systems that prioritize mass transit, biking, and walking over private vehicle use.

The document argues that while nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly integrated into global climate and biodiversity policies, there is a critical lack of research and reflection on their social and economic sustainability. It highlights risks such as 'green gentrification,' where market-driven NbS prioritize high-income groups and displace vulnerable populations. The authors note a significant geographic imbalance in NbS research, which is dominated by high-income countries despite the high vulnerability of Small Island Developing States and lower-income countries. Financially, NbS receive a small fraction of total climate finance, with challenges including the difficulty of comparing NbS costs to 'grey' infrastructure and a lack of private sector incentives for adaptation. Finally, the document addresses the complexities of 'scaling-up' NbS, noting that misinterpreting spatial, temporal, and institutional scales can lead to suboptimal outcomes for human-environmental systems.

The document outlines the legal and procedural steps of federal rulemaking and place-specific environmental actions, such as permitting and Superfund cleanups. It provides strategic advice for citizens to submit effective comments, request meetings with officials, and use legal mechanisms like citizen suits to ensure agency accountability. A significant portion of the guide is dedicated to environmental justice, explaining how marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change and detailing resources and grants available to help these communities participate in decision-making.

The document examines the technological, economic, and environmental aspects of transitioning the U.S. transportation sector to electric vehicles. It highlights the role of falling battery costs, the necessity of expanding charging infrastructure, and the potential for significant public health improvements, particularly in marginalized communities. It also addresses challenges related to the sourcing of critical minerals like lithium and cobalt and the impact of regional climates on vehicle range.

The briefing assesses the critical role of the Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) in U.S. national security, highlighting its success in developing medical countermeasures for threats like Ebola and swine flu. Despite these capabilities, the authors report a decade-long decline in CBDP funding, which continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. The document recommends doubling the budget to $2 billion in the short term and increasing it to $6.5–$7 billion annually in subsequent years. It advocates for a shift toward 'rapid response platforms,' including nucleic-acid based therapeutics and metagenomic sequencing, while calling for clarified mission authorities to allow CBDP to respond to natural pandemics.

The report details how Pretium Partners, a private equity firm specializing in single-family rentals, and its subsidiaries Progress Residential and Front Yard Residential, filed over 1,300 evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights a racial disparity in these filings, noting significantly higher eviction rates in majority-Black counties in Georgia compared to majority-white counties in Florida. The document also describes failures in property maintenance in Minneapolis and the firm's legal challenges to the CDC's eviction moratorium. Finally, it identifies the institutional investors, including pension funds and private equity firms, that provide the capital for Pretium's expansion.

The document argues that U.S. nuclear policy is currently operating in an "information vacuum," with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) often prioritizing licensee cost-savings over public safety and environmental data. It highlights systemic risks in "fast-track" decommissioning, the vulnerability of thin-walled spent fuel canisters to corrosion and failure, and the lack of scientific evidence supporting 80-year license extensions for aging plants. The authors further caution against the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) and the establishment of consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs) without comprehensive risk and cost analyses. The briefing concludes with ten recommendations to policymakers, including mandating ASME N3 standards for waste containers, requiring "hot cells" for repackaging damaged fuel, and reforming NRC oversight to reduce regulatory capture.

The document outlines several federal programs that leverage veterans' skills for roles in land management, agriculture, and conservation. Key initiatives include the Veterans Fire Corps for wildland firefighting, the BattleGround to Breaking Ground program for farming and ranching in Texas, and the VetsWork and NOAA Veterans Corps Fisheries programs for natural resource management and habitat restoration across multiple U.S. states.

The document examines how autonomous vehicles (AVs) could either reduce or increase greenhouse gas emissions depending on whether they are deployed as shared, electric mass transit or as private, single-occupancy vehicles. While AVs offer potential efficiency gains through 'platooning' and reduced vehicle weight, they risk increasing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and urban sprawl. The brief highlights the necessity of integrating AVs into multimodal urban systems and reviews current testing and regulatory efforts in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

The document reports that Florida's affordable housing stock is the 5th most vulnerable in the United States to future coastal flooding. By 2050, 963 units (0.8% of the state's stock) are projected to face at least annual threats, representing a 774% increase from 2000. Specific high-risk areas include Miami Beach, Marathon, and Ft. Lauderdale, with Miami Beach ranked 11th nationwide for units at risk. The analysis notes that affordable housing is particularly vulnerable because it is often older, of poorer quality, and lacks resilience features like flood-proofing.

The document highlights that Florida's affordable housing inventory is the fifth most vulnerable in the United States to future coastal flooding. By 2050, 963 affordable housing units in the state are projected to face at least annual coastal flooding threats, representing a 774% increase from the year 2000. Miami Beach is identified as a high-risk area, ranking 11th nationally for the number of affordable housing units at risk, with 317 units expected to be at risk annually by 2050.