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New research from Climate Central indicates that climate change accounted for 27% of the rate of heat-related emergency room visits in the U.S. during the warm seasons from 2018 to 2025. The study found that all U.S. regions experienced increased visit rates due to climate change, with the highest rates occurring in southern and western states. A notable peak occurred during the June 2021 northwestern U.S. heat wave, where daily visit rates were approximately 50 times higher than the regional average, with 27% of that rate attributed to climate change.

The 2026 State Healthcare Policy Review examines US state efforts to regulate private equity in healthcare, focusing on transparency, approval authority, targeted prohibitions, and the corporate practice of medicine. While several states enacted new disclosure and reporting laws, few expanded the power to block transactions, and many stringent proposals were narrowed or failed. Key developments include Maine's new administrative approval process and Connecticut's ban on hospital sale-leasebacks.

In Q2 2026, private equity firms acquired over 70 US companies with at least 500 employees, primarily in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services and Manufacturing sectors. The report details specific instances of plant closures, layoffs, and labor disputes following these acquisitions, such as the closure of an MW Components plant in Houston one week after its purchase by Rosebank Industries. It also highlights systemic issues including OSHA violations at SunOpta and child labor scandals at Charlesbank Capital Partners' portfolio company, Hearthside Food Solutions. Additionally, the report notes environmental and regulatory concerns, including wastewater pollutant violations by Inframark in Texas and community resistance to GI Partners' data center projects in California due to power and emission concerns.

The report argues that while next-generation geothermal has vast potential to provide clean firm power, its growth is hindered by a 'missing middle' financing gap, subsurface uncertainty, and outdated regulatory frameworks. It proposes five deployment levers: characterizing subsurface resources through data digitization and mapping, governing through streamlined permitting and clarified property rights, financing via procurement standards and convertible loans, connecting through improved transmission planning and workforce development, and innovating through sustained R&D and testbeds.

Climate change accounted for 27% of the rate of heat-related emergency room visits in the U.S. during 2018-2025. August 2026 was the warmest August on record globally, with record warmth affecting 13.2% of global land and ocean areas. In the U.S., Summer 2026 was the warmest on record for the contiguous region, and August 2026 was the warmest August for average, maximum, and minimum temperatures since 1895. Drought affected at least 81% of the contiguous U.S. as of September 8, 2026, and nearly 8.3 million acres burned year-to-date, driven by increased 'fire weather' days. Attribution analysis using the Climate Shift Index (CSI) indicates human-caused climate change drove summertime warming trends in 91% of analyzed U.S. cities. Additionally, a strong El Niño event is projected to peak around February 2027, with global temperature anomalies potentially reaching 1.7C above pre-industrial levels.

Research by the Union of Concerned Scientists and University of California, Merced, indicates that emissions from the 'Carbon Majors'—the 122 largest industrial carbon producers—are responsible for approximately half of the climate-driven reductions in snowpack and streamflow, and increases in irrigation demand across the western United States. The analysis highlights specific 'hot spots' in California and the Pacific Northwest, noting that these emissions contributed to a 15% reduction in April snowpack and a 6.1% decrease in warm season streamflow. In California's Central Valley, 10% of observed groundwater loss is attributed to these companies. The document argues that the fossil fuel industry should be held financially accountable for these damages, as local governments and vulnerable communities currently bear the economic costs of adaptation and infrastructure failure.

A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists and UC Merced finds that human-caused climate change has significantly reduced snowpack and streamflow while increasing irrigation demand in the western US. Approximately half of these impacts are attributed to the emissions of 'Carbon Majors'—the 122 largest industrial CO2 emitters. The report highlights severe consequences in agricultural regions like California's Central Valley, where Carbon Majors' emissions are linked to 10% of groundwater loss, and argues for the financial accountability of these companies for climate-driven water damages.

The document analyzes the growth of Compassus, a for-profit home-based care provider jointly owned by TowerBrook Capital Partners and Ascension Health, as a model for private equity expansion into nonprofit healthcare. It details joint ventures with systems including Providence, Bon Secours Mercy Health, and OhioHealth, highlighting the strategic shift toward home-based care. The text specifically examines the Providence partnership, noting that while Providence sought to reduce operating losses and manage services outside its 'core focus', the move faced opposition from nursing associations over concerns regarding patient care quality, workforce benefits, and access for underserved populations.

The report analyzes the strategic use of joint ventures by private equity (PE) firms to enter healthcare markets, leveraging the reputation of nonprofit partners to scale operations. Through case studies of Lifepoint Health, Ascension, Compassus, and Ardent Health, it documents patterns such as sale-leaseback real estate transactions, the use of nonprofit referral networks, and declining care quality. It argues that current IRS and state regulations are insufficient to oversee these complex structures and recommends expanded oversight of management fees, control rights, and charitable asset transfers.

Despite the removal of federal tax credits for clean energy upgrades via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, residential clean technologies in the US continue to offer significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions and cost savings. Using the Green Upgrade Calculator, RMI found that electric vehicles (EVs) generally lead in emissions reductions and cost savings in the West, while air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) are most effective for emissions in the Northeast and Midwest and for savings in the South. Rooftop solar provides the highest emissions impact in Hawaii and leads in cost savings in California, Florida, and the Northeast due to high electricity prices and sunlight. The report emphasizes that the most effective state and local programs will target specific household archetypes—such as high-mileage drivers for EVs or delivered-fuel users for ASHPs—and bundle technologies to maximize synergy and savings.

The report argues that fossil fuel interests use corporate lobbying, trade associations, and advisory roles to maintain the availability of cheap, low-quality carbon credits to avoid structural decarbonization. It details specific efforts to weaken California's cap-and-trade program and oppose transparency laws like AB 1305, while highlighting the role of the CFTC in federal oversight. The document concludes with recommendations to ban fossil fuel companies from climate advisory roles and eliminate carbon credits from California's compliance mechanisms.

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.

In Q1 2026, private equity firms acquired over 100 US companies with at least 500 employees, primarily in professional, scientific, and technical services, followed by information technology (20%) and manufacturing (16%). The report highlights concerns that the private equity focus on short-term returns leads to deferred maintenance and downsizing in manufacturing, and financial instability in food services through high debt loads. Notably, a $10.7 billion consortium led by BlackRock and EQT to acquire AES Corporation would significantly increase their fossil fuel power plant portfolios. Other tracked activities include acquisitions in education staffing, childcare franchises, professional sports, and the restructuring of TikTok's US operations.

The paper examines the UK's Enhanced Trade Partnerships (ETPs), which are non-binding memoranda of understanding that sit between informal commercial meetings (JETCOs) and binding Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). While ETPs frequently reference sustainability and can facilitate 'green' trade and regulatory diplomacy, the author argues they primarily serve offensive trade interests and lack the civil society oversight necessary to prevent 'greenwashing'.

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.

Climate Central analyzed data from 476 weather stations to track fire weather trends in the contiguous U.S. between 1973 and 2025. The analysis reveals a significant increase in fire weather days, particularly in the western U.S., where conditions are intensifying in spring and summer. While the eastern U.S. has seen smaller increases, some areas in the Southeast and Northeast are experiencing more frequent fire weather. The report highlights that climate change is driving these trends through warming temperatures and decreasing relative humidity, which prime landscapes for wildfires to ignite and spread.

The report argues that next-generation geothermal, specifically enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), can provide the 'clean firm' power California needs to reach its 2045 goals affordably. Modeling shows that EGS could reduce annual electricity supply costs by $10-44 billion and decrease the required pace of solar installation from 10 GW/year to 3 GW/year. While projects are currently being developed in other western states, the authors argue that in-state development would further save $3.5-5.5 billion annually and reduce interregional transmission needs by 28-53%. To overcome the 'missing middle' of financing for high-risk exploration wells, the report recommends California establish a public subsurface mapping and testbed program similar to the DOE's FORGE project in Utah.

The report details how private equity firms have acquired Medicaid contractors to capitalize on government-backed revenue, often leading to operational failures. It highlights systemic payment errors and wage theft allegations at Public Partnerships, LLC; massive debt-driven cost-cutting and fraud allegations at Gainwell Technologies; and delays in care authorizations and the use of offshore labor at Acentra Health. The document also warns of the risks associated with AI-driven analytics and the offshoring of sensitive patient health information to India.

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project supports Illinois HB5000, arguing that private equity's expansion into healthcare—through leveraged buyouts, roll-ups, and joint ventures—often leads to higher prices, increased debt, and reduced quality of care. The document details specific financial tactics like sale-leasebacks and dividend recapitalizations, and highlights the growth of private equity in ambulatory surgery centers and physician practice management, urging regulators to increase oversight to protect patient access and cost.

As of March 30, 2026, the western U.S. is experiencing a historic snow drought, with snow water equivalent at its lowest record for April 1 and 65% below the 1991-2020 normal. This condition is attributed to a record-warm winter and a record-shattering March heat wave fueled by heat-trapping pollution. Long-term trends from 1955 to 2023 show an 18% average decline in April 1 snowpack across 652 monitoring stations, with snow droughts growing 28% longer between 1980 and 2018. These trends increase risks for water supplies, hydropower, and wildfires, with projections suggesting a further 25% decline in snow water equivalent by 2050.