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The report finds that while most US states meet the minimum legal requirements for Title V air permitting notices, there are substantial gaps in transparency, accessibility, and the actual influence of public input on final decisions. It highlights that many public notices are written at a college reading level and lack plain language, and that few agencies transparently report how public comments shape permit outcomes. The analysis suggests that states with specific environmental justice or cumulative impacts laws tend to have better engagement practices. It recommends that agencies adopt plain language, provide multilingual resources, and establish clear mechanisms for reporting how community input affects regulatory decisions.

In 2026, Canada experienced a rapid escalation in wildfire activity, with over 3 million hectares burned, primarily between late June and July. The report finds that human-induced climate change increased the likelihood of extreme fire weather conditions in the Northwest Territories and Ontario, though the degree of attribution varies by region and metric. The fires caused significant public health issues due to smoke exposure affecting over 120 million people in the U.S. and displaced remote and Indigenous communities. While short-term fire weather was linked to warming, the report found no evidence that long-term 24-month drought conditions were driven by human-induced climate change.

The document is a formal statement by a coalition of state attorneys general and local officials opposing federal legislation that would shield fossil fuel companies from state-level lawsuits regarding climate deception and consumer protection violations.

The document analyzes four case studies of 'electrification-friendly' electric rates in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Maine, and Maryland. It finds that rates specifically designed for heat pump users or those with significant seasonal differentiation provide the greatest bill savings. The analysis emphasizes that automatic enrollment strategies are more effective at reaching customers than optional opt-in rates.

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute describes the role of cobalt as a critical mineral for the clean energy transition, detailing its applications in lithium-ion batteries, global distribution of reserves and production, and the significant human rights and environmental impacts associated with its extraction, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The document argues that curbside charging is a critical alternative for renters and multifamily housing residents who lack private off-street parking. It emphasizes that successful deployment requires early engagement with 'program stakeholders' (government and private entities) and 'community stakeholders' (residents and local organizations) to navigate the complexities of urban infrastructure. The guide outlines four business models—'own and operate', 'lease', 'external operator', and 'concession'—noting that the choice depends on whether the city prioritizes program control, financial risk mitigation, or specific goals like addressing 'EV charging deserts'. It also suggests community engagement tools such as surveys, pop-ups, and dedicated websites to build trust and correct EV misconceptions.

The report compares two pathways for meeting U.S. electricity demand growth through 2030: one relying on fossil fuels and another on clean energy. It finds that a clean energy scenario reduces the incremental cost of meeting demand by $5.1 billion annually in 2030 and offers greater protection against fuel price volatility. To realize these savings, the authors recommend setting ambitious clean energy targets, updating electricity system planning with market-based assumptions, reducing permitting and interconnection barriers, implementing fuel cost sharing to manage risk, improving grid utilization through technologies like surplus interconnection and high-performance conductors, and harnessing demand-side resources such as virtual power plants and distributed energy technologies.

The report introduces Green Economic Populism (GEP), a framework that argues the affordability crisis is a structural challenge intensified by the climate crisis. It posits that reducing dependence on volatile fossil fuels can lower costs for working people across energy, food, health, housing, and transportation. The document provides polling data showing that 70% of US voters believe economic policy can simultaneously lower costs and reduce emissions, and 55% want coordinated policies to address both. It highlights successful political campaigns and labor actions in cities and states such as New York City, Seattle, New Jersey, Georgia, and Missouri that centered the intersection of climate action and material needs, such as rent stabilization, utility price controls, and decarbonized public infrastructure.

Virtual power plants (VPPs) are reaching scales that rival traditional power plants, with some programs exceeding 1 GW. Despite this, the document finds that utilities often fail to properly model VPPs in integrated resource plans (IRPs) and distribution system plans (DSPs), frequently treating them as fixed load adjustments rather than selectable resources. This planning gap leads to an underestimation of VPP value and a risk of redundant infrastructure investment. The author recommends that regulators and utilities develop detailed resource attributes for VPPs, allow for their growth in models, and evaluate their benefits across both bulk power and distribution systems.

The PJM region expects approximately 30 GW of new electricity demand by 2030, primarily from data centers, amid rising capacity market prices and slow interconnection timelines. In response, the PJM Board's January 2026 CIFP-LLA decision establishes a regional framework for load forecasting, 'bring-your-own resource' options, a 'connect and manage' curtailment approach, and a 'reliability backstop' capacity auction. RMI argues that states must operationalize this framework through specific retail-level actions: establishing large load tariffs (LLTs) to prevent cost-shifting, improving load forecast validation to reduce speculative requests, and implementing non-firm service tariffs to prioritize the curtailment of large loads over residential customers. Additionally, the briefing recommends that states pursue permitting reforms to accelerate new generation, deploy virtual power plants (VPPs) and advanced transmission technologies (ATTs) to expand grid capacity, and coordinate regionally to advocate for deeper PJM generator interconnection reforms.

The playbook offers a structured set of questions for advocates and regulators to use across pre-filing, planning, and ratemaking proceedings. It emphasizes the need to clarify who bears the cost of distribution investments, especially when load or distributed energy resource (DER) forecasts are inaccurate, and suggests the use of guardrails like cost caps and reconciliation rules to protect residential customers.

RMI analysis indicates that wind and solar revenues in some US agricultural states are approaching the scale of major commodities, providing farmers with predictable income and counties with tax revenue for public services. While wind projects typically maintain agricultural land use, solar arrays have a larger footprint, leading to the exploration of agrivoltaics. In 2024, nine states generated over $1 billion each in wind and solar revenue, totaling $23 billion.

In Q4 2025, U.S. clean energy investments were characterized by significant uncertainty driven by a record 43-day government shutdown, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), and Department of Energy (DOE) funding cuts. While utility-scale solar and storage remained strong, with $18 billion in actual investments, other sectors like wind, hydrogen, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) faced substantial project cancellations. Nuclear energy showed signs of growth through large-scale partnerships and DOE loans, while the manufacturing sector saw $8.4 billion in EV supply chain cancellations, partly due to shifting federal incentives and corporate pivots toward gas and hybrid vehicles.

The report examines the growth of private equity (PE) in the autism therapy sector, highlighting a pattern of aggressive acquisitions and debt-driven management. It argues that PE-backed providers often prioritize profit over patient care by using standardized treatment plans, pressuring parents for more therapy hours, and engaging in fraudulent billing. State audits in Massachusetts, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Colorado reveal millions of dollars in improper Medicaid payments and inadequate staffing. The document concludes with policy recommendations, including facility-level licensure and rules to ensure a high percentage of Medicaid payments go directly to care worker compensation.

The report advocates for reconductoring as a primary solution to the U.S. energy grid's capacity crisis, which currently stalls 2,500 GW of clean energy projects. By replacing traditional steel-core cables with advanced composite conductors, the grid can double its transfer capacity at less than half the cost of building new lines, with installation times of 18-36 months compared to 10-15 years for new construction. The document highlights the potential for $180 billion in system savings by 2050 and a 3-4% reduction in wholesale electricity costs. It details technical improvements, such as trapezoidal wires and carbon-fiber cores, and cites successful implementations in Texas, Nevada, California, and Minnesota, as well as international adoption in Europe and Asia. The report concludes by urging policymakers to support legislation like the High-Capacity Grid Act and the REWIRE Act to incentivize the adoption of these technologies.

The report estimates that US farmers apply 30% to 50% more synthetic nitrogen fertilizer than crops can absorb, contributing to significant greenhouse gas emissions. It calculates total US fertilizer-related emissions at approximately 120 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, with direct nitrous oxide emissions accounting for nearly 40% of this total. The document also analyzes the impact of USDA's Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), specifically Nutrient Management Practice 590, arguing that increased funding for these programs can reduce fertilizer dependency and generate economic benefits for farmers and the broader economy.

The report finds that US farmers apply 3.5 to 5.8 million metric tons of nitrogen fertilizer in excess of what crops can absorb, contributing to significant greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution. It highlights that nitrogen fertilizer use in 2023 was responsible for approximately 120 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions. The authors argue that voluntary USDA programs like EQIP and CSP are underfunded and that the next Farm Bill should prioritize soil health and agroecology to reduce chemical dependency and climate risks.

The document highlights that US farmers apply 30 to 50 percent more synthetic nitrogen fertilizer than crops can absorb, leading to significant economic waste and greenhouse gas emissions. It advocates for the next food and farm bill to increase funding for USDA programs like EQIP and CSP to support soil health and climate resilience, particularly for socially disadvantaged farmers.

GreenLatinos condemns the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) increased immigration enforcement in Minnesota and across the United States, arguing that such actions terrorize immigrant communities and undermine the democratic foundations necessary to advance climate solutions and public health. The organization calls on Congress to use its oversight and appropriations authority to prohibit militarized tactics and hold leadership, including Secretary Kristi Noem, accountable.

The report analyzes power outage data from 2014 to 2024 in the central United States, specifically the MISO+ region, finding that all of the 100 worst outage days were caused by extreme weather. It highlights that the 10 most severe events occurred after 2020 and were often compound disasters, such as hurricanes combined with flooding or winter storms with tornadoes. The document argues that climate change is intensifying these risks—increasing the frequency of derechos, the rainfall of hurricanes, and the potential for severe winter outbreaks—while disproportionately impacting socially vulnerable communities. It recommends that utilities, states, and regional operators implement comprehensive climate risk assessments, accelerate the clean energy transition, and engage in meaningful community partnership to build a resilient grid.