Search Climate Insights Directory

The report examines the economic viability of 'grid defection'—where customers use solar PV and battery storage to operate independently of the electric grid. It analyzes five U.S. geographies to determine when the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for these systems undercuts retail utility prices. The findings suggest that grid parity is already present in Hawaii and is imminent for millions of other U.S. customers, threatening to strand utility assets and trigger a 'utility death spiral' of rising prices and falling sales.

The report identifies nine key drivers—including energy cost savings, stakeholder demand, and smart building technology—that enable corporations to move beyond incremental sustainability gains toward higher energy performance and net-zero buildings.

This fact sheet outlines RMI's history of developing market-based solutions for energy efficiency and climate protection. Key achievements include the creation of the Hypercar concept to reduce oil dependence, the development of the Natural Capitalism framework for sustainable business, and the establishment of the LEED green building rating system. The organization has also worked extensively on military energy security, water efficiency, and the promotion of decentralized low-carbon power generation over nuclear energy.

The VPP Flipbook outlines how utilities can aggregate distributed energy resources (DERs)—such as batteries, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats—to provide grid services like capacity, energy, and resilience. It details a six-step development process and provides specific examples from utilities including PG&E, National Grid, and Green Mountain Power. The document emphasizes the importance of open-access structures, third-party partnerships, and the integration of VPPs into long-term resource planning to address load growth and decarbonization goals.

The document argues that the costs of failing to reduce carbon emissions in the United States are prohibitive, citing projected damages to coastal infrastructure, public health, water resources, agriculture, transportation, and energy systems. It highlights that under high-emissions scenarios, the annual economic impact could reach 1.9 percent of GDP by 2100. Specific regional risks include severe sea-level rise in Florida and the Northeast, extreme heat waves in Midwestern cities, water scarcity in the Southwest, and increased wildfire frequency in the West Coast and Rocky Mountain regions. The document advocates for a reduction of carbon emissions by at least 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050 to avoid the worst consequences.

The report provides a state-by-state breakdown of progress toward 2020 Clean Power Plan benchmarks, noting that some states have exceeded 500% of their goals while others show 0% progress. It highlights the role of energy efficiency, renewable energy standards, and regional initiatives in achieving these targets.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) created a dataset of U.S. school bus fleets by submitting records requests to state governments between March and November 2022. The data includes details such as model year, fuel type, manufacturer, seating capacity, and ownership model, intended for use in estimating greenhouse gas emission reductions, planning grid upgrades for electrification, and identifying highly polluting buses. The dataset is limited by missing data from four states and all U.S. territories, as well as structural differences in how states report data.

The guide identifies milkweed as the essential food source for monarch caterpillars and the only plant where they lay eggs. It attributes the decline of migratory monarch populations to the loss of millions of acres of milkweed caused by agricultural expansion, urban growth, and the use of herbicides and GMO crops. To mitigate this, the document provides a regional directory of native milkweed species for the US and Canada, categorized by soil and climate requirements, and encourages planting a variety of nectar-producing plants to support adult butterflies during their migration between Mexico and northern North America.

The document argues that measuring on-farm food loss is a low-cost, resource-efficient process that provides growers with data to improve operational efficiency and identify new markets for edible but unmarketable produce. Based on a 2021 pilot with seven growers in the US, it highlights that food loss is often driven by strict retail specifications, labor costs, and market dynamics. The SISC Food Loss Metric tool allows growers to categorize unharvested crops as marketable, edible but not marketable, or inedible, with the sampling process taking approximately one hour for two people. The report concludes that while growers see the value in this data, systemic change requires buyers and policymakers to create financial incentives and new sales channels for 'ugly' or surplus produce.

The document outlines a strategic framework to transform ocean conservation by moving from incremental to revolutionary solutions. It identifies ten Grand Challenges—ranging from unsustainable aquaculture and marine debris to ocean acidification and dead zones—and proposes a pipeline for innovation. This pipeline involves sourcing ideas through open innovation and prizes, prototyping and incubating them through dedicated accelerators, and scaling them via a tiered investment model. The initiative seeks to build a multidisciplinary 'Tribe' of solvers, including technologists and financiers, to increase the speed and efficacy of marine protection.