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Comparing the Cost to Travel: Electric Vehicle Fill-Up Savings by State
The report finds that electric vehicle (EV) drivers in all U.S. states can expect cost savings per trip and annually compared to gas vehicle drivers. The highest savings occur in Washington State due to high gasoline prices and low residential electricity rates, while the lowest savings are found in Hawaii due to higher electricity costs. The analysis focuses on three vehicle classes—sedans, SUVs, and trucks—using 2023 base models and a mix of home and public charging data.
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Document type: Report
POLICY PRIORITIES TO ENSURE OFFSHORE WIND PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN OUR NET-ZERO FUTURE
The report argues that the U.S. must implement ambitious long-term capacity targets, holistic transmission planning, and strategic infrastructure investments to achieve a net-zero future. It emphasizes the need for coordinated site identification, streamlined permitting, and the development of a domestic supply chain and workforce to support a potential build-out of 250 to 750 GW of offshore wind by 2050.
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Document type: Report
PRIVATE EQUITY PROFITS FROM DISASTER at the Expense of Workers, Communities, and Climate
The report argues that private equity firms have consolidated the disaster restoration market, leading to a decline in workplace standards and community protections. It details systemic wage theft, numerous OSHA safety violations—particularly regarding asbestos—and the paradox of firms profiting from disaster cleanup while owning high-emitting fossil fuel assets. The document calls for legislative action, such as the Climate Resilience Workforce Act, and stricter labor standards for private equity owners.
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Document type: Report
Building Community Resilience
This report by the Union of Concerned Scientists highlights the challenges and successes of frontline communities in the US and Puerto Rico in building climate resilience. It identifies four key themes: displacement, government negligence, funding inequities, and the effectiveness of community-driven solutions. The authors argue that while scientific solutions exist, a lack of political will and bureaucratic barriers hinder progress. The report provides specific recommendations to shift toward inclusive, community-led adaptation strategies that respect tribal sovereignty and prioritize the lived experiences of marginalized populations.
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Document type: Report
Obligaciones de los Estados en materia de derechos humanos en el contexto del cambio climático
The report analyzes how UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies (HRTBs) are increasingly integrating climate change into their oversight of State obligations. In 2022, HRTBs made 95 references to climate change in their pronouncements, reflecting a trend toward treating the climate crisis as an urgent human rights issue. Key focus areas include the obligation of developed states to mitigate emissions, the need to phase out fossil fuels, and the protection of vulnerable groups such as children, women, persons with disabilities, and Indigenous Peoples. A landmark decision by the Human Rights Committee in Billy et al. v. Australia established a State's duty to protect individuals under its jurisdiction from climate impacts and provide effective remedies. The report emphasizes the growing role of HRTBs in defining extraterritorial obligations and the duty to regulate private corporate actors contributing to environmental degradation.
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Document type: Report
States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change
The report analyzes the increasing engagement of UN human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) with climate change, noting that in 2022, 52 percent of outputs to States included climate-related recommendations. It highlights a shift toward more specific demands regarding mitigation, the phasing out of fossil fuels, and the protection of vulnerable groups, including children, women, and Indigenous Peoples. A landmark decision by the Human Rights Committee in Billy et al. v. Australia established a State's duty to protect individuals from climate impacts and provide effective remedy. The document argues for further HRTB guidance on extraterritorial obligations and the regulation of private business actors to prevent climate-induced human rights violations.
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Document type: Report
Equitable Grid Principles Guidance for Electric Grid Infrastructure Decisionmakers and Stakeholders in the MISO Region
The Union of Concerned Scientists presents a framework of nine principles designed to make electric grid infrastructure planning in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region more equitable. These principles advocate for the prioritization of Indigenous rights, accountable decisionmaking, and procedural justice to prevent the replication of past harms. The guidance emphasizes shifting away from centralized fossil-fuel systems toward locally controlled clean energy resources, just sourcing of materials, and worker protections. It specifically calls for the adoption of the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) standard for Indigenous communities and the implementation of social welfare metrics to benefit disadvantaged communities.
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Document type: Report
Carlyle Emissions Surpass a Quarter Billion Metric Tons
The report finds that The Carlyle Group invested in 91 energy companies owning 972 assets between 2011 and 2021, with 90% of these being fossil fuel investments. These assets emitted an estimated 277 million metric tons of CO2e, with emissions growing at an average annual rate of 95%. The analysis highlights a significant disparity between Carlyle's fossil fuel investments ($22.4 billion) and its renewable energy commitments ($1.4 billion). Furthermore, the report documents that 84% of Carlyle's downstream US assets are located in areas with higher concentrations of low-income residents or people of color than state averages, and 47% of these plants have a record of environmental violations.
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Document type: Report
Carlyle Emissions Surpass a Quarter Billion Metric Tons
The report finds that The Carlyle Group invested in 91 energy companies owning 972 assets from 2011 to 2021, with 90 percent of both companies and assets being fossil fuel investments. These investments emitted an estimated 277 million metric tons of CO2e, with a compound annual growth rate of 95 percent. The analysis highlights a significant disparity between Carlyle's fossil fuel capacity (peaking at nearly 10,000 MW in 2021) and its renewable capacity (just over 1,300 MW). Furthermore, the report documents that 84 percent of Carlyle's current US downstream fossil fuel assets are located in areas with higher percentages of low-income residents and/or residents of color than state averages, and 47 percent of these plants have a record of environmental violations.
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Document type: Report
CEQ’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool Needs to Consider How Burdens Add Up
The World Resources Institute analyzes CEJST 1.0, finding that while it identifies more disadvantaged populations than the beta version, it lacks a mechanism to prioritize communities facing multiple overlapping burdens. The analysis reveals that non-white populations are disproportionately exposed to higher cumulative burdens, yet the tool treats all disadvantaged communities as equal for funding purposes. The authors recommend incorporating cumulative burden metrics, adjusting low-income eligibility for severely burdened areas, and establishing a rigorous monitoring framework for the Justice40 Initiative.
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Document type: Research paper
Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector Climate Review
A coalition of environmental justice organizations argues that the EPA's proposed regulations for the oil and gas sector must be strengthened to protect Black, Latine, tribal, and low-income communities. The commenters detail how these groups suffer disproportionate health risks from air and water pollution, economic burdens from orphaned wells and property devaluation, and heightened climate vulnerability. They recommend specific policy enhancements, including stricter leak detection and repair (LDAR) requirements, the elimination of routine flaring, and more robust community monitoring and well-closure mandates.
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Document type: Statement
The Economic Tides Just Turned for States
RMI's analysis indicates that US states can secure significant federal investment, job growth, and health improvements by ambitiously adopting the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) tax credits, rebates, and grants. Under a "Climate Ambitious Scenario," states could see cumulative investments between $1 billion and $130 billion by 2030, with the highest per capita gains expected in states with strong renewable energy potential and industrial activity, such as Wyoming, Montana, and Louisiana.
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Document type: Report
TOP STATE ENERGY POLICIES TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS
The report demonstrates that implementing five core policies—clean electricity standards, zero-emission vehicle standards, clean building equipment standards, industrial efficiency and emissions standards, and methane detection and capture standards—can dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions in Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Using the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), the authors find that these policies not only reduce emissions but also drive job growth, increase GDP, and prevent premature deaths by reducing air pollutants. The analysis highlights that while state emissions profiles vary—with Louisiana dominated by industry and New Mexico by methane from oil and gas—these five policies provide a consistent framework for decarbonization.
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Document type: Report
THROWING FUEL ON THE FIRE: GFANZ financing of fossil fuel expansion
The report finds that GFANZ members, including major banks and asset managers, have provided hundreds of billions of dollars to companies expanding fossil fuel production. It argues that the alliance's sectoral guidelines and individual member policies are insufficient to prevent this expansion, often relying on flawed decarbonization targets that do not explicitly prohibit new fossil fuel supply. The document calls for the adoption of robust 'no-expansion' policies, alignment with UN Race to Zero criteria, and the implementation of meaningful accountability mechanisms to ensure financial flows are redirected toward clean energy.
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Document type: Report
The Benefit and Urgency of Planned Offshore Transmission
The report identifies a critical need for coordinated transmission planning to integrate projected offshore wind (OSW) generation, which could reach 200-460 GW by 2050. It argues that current incremental, project-by-project interconnection processes are inefficient and costly. Proactive planning is projected to save U.S. consumers at least $20 billion, reduce shore crossings and onshore upgrades by 60-70%, and decrease marine cable installations by 50%. The document outlines significant barriers, including siloed planning, lack of HVDC technology standardization, and uncertain tax credits. It provides a phased roadmap of 12 recommendations, ranging from immediate staffing increases and the creation of multi-state decision-making bodies to long-term grid operation and wholesale market design modifications.
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Document type: Report
Synthesis of Statements on Climate Change
The document reviews the 2022 activities of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), focusing on its Concluding Observations for the United States, France, and Cameroon. It highlights the Committee's concerns over the disproportionate impacts of climate change and extractive industries on racial and ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples. Additionally, it discusses the development of General Recommendation No. 37 on the right to health, noting civil society efforts to ensure the climate crisis and environmental racism are integrated into this framework, supported by findings from the IPCC and WHO.
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Document type: Briefing
Using the State Energy Policy Simulator to Support Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Planning
The Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) is a free, open-source tool developed by RMI and Energy Innovation to model the environmental, economic, and health impacts of energy policies across the lower 48 US states. The tool supports the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program by enabling states to calculate GHG inventories, project emissions through 2050, build scenarios to meet reduction targets, and quantify the co-benefits of mitigation measures, such as public health improvements and economic development.
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Document type: Fact sheet
CP2 LNG Terminal Application for a Coastal Use Permit, CUP #P20211131
Environmental organizations oppose the CP2 LNG Terminal in Louisiana, arguing that the application is incomplete and fails to account for severe impacts on wetlands, chenier plains, and local communities. They contend that the project would destroy critical storm protections, exacerbate climate change through greenhouse gas emissions, and pose significant risks of accidents and explosions. The commenters request that the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources deny the permit due to inadequate alternatives analysis and a failure to meet public trust duties under the state constitution.
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Document type: Statement
Private Equity Fuels LNG at the Expense of Communities and the Climate
Private equity firms have significantly enabled the U.S. to become the world's largest LNG exporter, with investment in 86% of operating terminals. The report argues that these investments drive climate change via methane emissions and pose safety risks to frontline communities, citing the 2022 Freeport LNG explosion as an example of operational failure linked to worker fatigue and mismanagement.
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Document type: Research paper
The Fossil Fuel Lobbyist List
A 50-state survey by Global Energy Monitor reveals that major U.S. corporations in the tech, banking, and insurance sectors frequently employ lobbyists who also represent fossil fuel interests. This creates a paradox where companies with public net-zero pledges provide political cover and credibility to lobbyists promoting continued fossil fuel dependence. The report highlights specific companies—such as Amazon, State Farm, and Bank of America—and notes that weak state disclosure laws and the absence of a national database hinder accountability.
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Document type: Report