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The document outlines the status of coal ash ponds and landfills in Massachusetts, noting that between 300,000 and 600,000 tons of ash are generated annually. It highlights several EPA-identified damage cases where unlined landfills and ponds contaminated groundwater and air with metals such as arsenic and chromium. The text argues that the Massachusetts Solid Waste Act contains deficiencies by exempting coal ash from key solid waste regulations and local health board approvals.

The document details the distribution of Recovery Act funds for high-speed rail awards across the West, Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast regions of the United States. The West region received the highest allocation at $2,942,000,000, followed by the Midwest at $2,599,600,000, the Southeast at $1,870,000,000, and the Northeast at $485,000,000. Key projects include the California High-Speed Rail, the Tampa-Orlando Phase 1 HSR, and various track, signal, and station upgrades across multiple state corridors to increase train speeds and reliability.

The document consists of a collection of 45 figures mapping the FSEIS routes for nuclear waste transport through nearly every U.S. state and the District of Columbia.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater opposes the transfer of Indian Point's nuclear licenses to Holtec International, citing the company's 'rip and ship' decommissioning model as a risk to public safety and a means to maximize private profit from ratepayer funds. The document details a pattern of bribery and fraud involving Holtec and its partner SNC-Lavalin, including a World Bank ban and criminal charges in Canada and Libya. It highlights safety failures at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, such as damaged canisters and a near-miss accident, and criticizes Holtec's proposed Consolidated Interim Storage facility in New Mexico for being located in an active oil field. The author contends that Holtec's lack of decommissioning experience and its complex LLC structure create a significant risk that taxpayers will be left with the costs of incomplete remediation.

The report identifies 'coronavirus profiteers' across the meat, auto, airline, logging, and fossil fuel industries who lobbied for deregulation and subsidies during the pandemic. It contrasts these with 'climate heroes'—including certain European automakers, EU leadership, and specific palm oil companies—who continued to pursue emissions reductions and forest protection. The text emphasizes that weakening environmental protections, such as allowing deforestation and air pollution, increases public health vulnerability to respiratory diseases and future pandemics.

The document provides a comparative analysis of labor policies from the NY State Common Retirement Fund, CalPERS, Maryland SRPS, MassPRIM, and the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI). It details how these investors approach the right to organize, compulsory labor, discrimination, wages, layoffs, diversity, health and safety, and working conditions within their private equity portfolios.

Private equity firms own at least 31,000 companies employing 13 million US workers, often in low-wage sectors. The document asserts that poor workforce relations and high bankruptcy risks in private equity-backed companies can lead to material financial losses, while proactive workforce management—including better wages and health and safety practices—enhances company performance and investor returns. Several US state pension funds managing over a trillion dollars have already adopted such policies to integrate labor risk assessment into manager selection and monitoring.

The document highlights the systemic labor risks associated with private equity, noting that portfolio companies employ 13 million US workers and face higher bankruptcy risks. It advocates for the adoption of Responsible Workforce Management policies by state pension funds to improve company performance and avoid operational disruptions, citing a $3.7 trillion backlog of portfolio companies and lagging returns as reasons for increased investor-led oversight.

The report details how private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and real estate investment trust Medical Properties Trust (MPT) extracted significant capital from Steward Health Care through sale-leaseback transactions and dividends, contributing to a $9 billion liability and eventual Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It highlights a pattern of asset stripping, including the sale of hospital real estate to fund investor payouts, which left hospitals with unsustainable lease obligations. This financial distress manifested in severe patient care crises, including equipment repossessions, staffing shortages, and the closure of six hospitals, resulting in at least 2,650 layoffs. The document concludes with policy recommendations to increase financial transparency, limit debt-funded dividends, and regulate hospital change-of-ownership transactions.

The Carol Avenue Apartments in Boston are undergoing a deep energy retrofit scheduled for completion in late 2024. The project focuses on transitioning a 33-unit, 1910-era property from fossil fuel-based systems to a fully electric infrastructure. By combining interior wall insulation, roof upgrades, and the installation of a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system, the property is estimated to reduce energy use by 55 percent. The addition of 65.3 kW of rooftop solar PV is projected to further increase total energy reduction to 64 percent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent.

The Hano Homes project in Boston aims to transform a multifamily residential building constructed in 1888 into a net-zero energy property through a deep energy retrofit planned for 2023–2024. The strategy involves wrapping the building in a superinsulated exterior shell, replacing gas boilers and water heaters with all-electric heat pump systems, and installing a 100–110 kW rooftop solar PV system. These measures are expected to reduce energy usage by 69% and eliminate operational greenhouse gas emissions, while the use of bio-based insulation is intended to store carbon and reduce embodied emissions.

The document describes a framework for calculating residential utility bills by combining NREL ResStock building load data with electric and gas tariff data from Genability and RateAcuity. It details specific adjustments made to tariffs for Xcel Energy (Minnesota), Pepco (Maryland), Central Maine Power (Maine), and Eversource Energy (Massachusetts) to ensure analytical consistency. The analysis specifically models upgrades to high-efficiency cold-climate air-to-air heat pumps and evaluates the impact of 'electrification-friendly' rate designs on customer costs.

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 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 briefing examines the climate policy landscapes of the U.S. and China, noting that while the U.S. lacks a national carbon price, it has significant subnational activity. China has established the world's largest emissions trading scheme (ETS) but maintains that it is not obligated to provide international climate finance as a developing nation. Both countries are advancing corporate climate disclosure rules, though they differ on the requirement for Scope 3 emissions. The paper suggests cooperation on sustainable procurement, data standards for emission accounting, and subnational carbon market exchanges.

The document provides a comprehensive overview of the climate and energy landscapes in China and the United States. For China, it highlights a 4.7% increase in CO2 emissions in 2023, the growth of non-fossil fuel power capacity to 53.9% of the total, and the implementation of the 'Carbon Peak' pilot program and the restart of the CCER market. For the United States, it notes a projected 1.9% decrease in emissions for 2023, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the focus on decarbonizing the power sector by 2035. The briefing also details the 'Sunnylands Statement' as a framework for bilateral cooperation on methane and energy transition, while noting tensions regarding trade policies and the potential impact of the 2024 US election.

The report outlines strategies for U.S. companies to adopt on-site renewable energy, focusing on solar, wind, geothermal, and solar thermal technologies. It details various ownership and financing models—ranging from direct ownership to third-party power purchase agreements—and analyzes the associated financial incentives, operational risks, and corporate benefits such as cost hedging and brand enhancement.

The document outlines four types of solar metering arrangements designed to overcome the limitations of the traditional "one customer, one meter" model. Net metering provides benefits to a single customer via one meter. Virtual net metering (VNM) allows multiple customers with separate meters to share credits from a system, often in multi-tenant or municipal buildings, and is permitted in states including California, Colorado, and Massachusetts. Community solar enables joint ownership or sponsorship of systems for those unable to host arrays on-site, utilizing models such as utility-sponsored, special purpose entity, or non-profit "buy a brick" projects. Meter aggregation allows a single customer with multiple utility accounts to aggregate annual consumption across separate buildings, enabling the installation of larger systems and higher power sales back to the grid.

The document highlights the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency programs in the U.S., citing specific utility savings in Minnesota, New Mexico, and Arkansas, and economic projections for Massachusetts and Wisconsin. It advocates for scaling up federal appliance standards, updating building codes, and implementing financing mechanisms like PACE and green banks to increase adoption.