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The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) supports the Oregon Treasury's proposed Net Zero plan for the Oregon Public Employees' Retirement Fund (OPERF), which aims for Net Zero by 2050 and a 60% reduction in emissions intensity by 2035. PESP highlights that Real Assets and Private Equity accounted for 46% of OPERF's emissions at the end of 2022 despite representing only 35% of assets. While praising the plan's exclusion of new commitments to fossil fuel focused private funds and its use of science-based metrics, PESP calls for accelerated timelines, clearer guidance for managers, and specific action regarding the Rio Grande LNG terminal project involving Global Infrastructure Partners.

The report details how the plastics industry promoted recycling as a false solution to plastic waste despite knowing it was technically and economically unviable. It outlines a history of industry tactics, from promoting disposability in the 1950s to the current promotion of 'advanced recycling' as a means to avoid bans and maintain virgin plastic production.

In 2024, WRI supported over 150 U.S. cities and counties in accelerating clean energy deployment and helped over 60 cities claim more than $12 million in tax credits via the Inflation Reduction Act's elective pay mechanism. The organization advanced next-generation geothermal technologies, launched a database of 50 community benefits frameworks for transmission projects, and supported the deployment of electric school buses (ESBs) through initiatives like the RVXDS project in California. WRI also focused on reforming power markets and grids, providing technical assistance to the PJM Cities and Communities Coalition and researching interregional transmission procurement.

An analysis of 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey data reveals that extremely low-income US households—those earning less than 30% of the state median income—face a disproportionately high average energy burden of 14%, exceeding the 10% threshold for energy poverty. The report highlights that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act could save American families approximately $38 billion on electricity bills through technology upgrades and rebates. It identifies successful state-level interventions, such as California's percentage of income payment plans (PIPPs) and Colorado's low-income community solar programs, as models for alleviating energy poverty. The analysis further notes that extremely low-income households in southern states experience the highest energy burdens, often correlating with higher income inequality and diversity indices. The document concludes that states can simultaneously pursue decarbonization and energy affordability, citing Colorado and Washington as examples of states integrating specific energy affordability policies into their climate targets.

The Biden administration has announced a plan to restore endangered salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest, committing over $500 million in federal funding and support for clean energy projects to replace the services of four dams on the lower Snake River. This plan aligns with the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI), which calls for breaching the dams within two fish generations. Earthjustice and several Native tribes and states have paused litigation against the government to allow for the implementation of these commitments, though final dam breaching will require Congressional action.

Climate Central's analysis of U.S. locations from 1970 to 2022 shows that winter is the fastest-warming season for 74% of analyzed sites, with average winter temperatures increasing in 97% of locations. This warming is characterized by more warmer-than-normal days, fewer freezing nights, and shrinking cold snaps, particularly in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. These trends affect critical sectors including the $27 billion fruit and nut industry, western water supplies, and residential energy use.

The report presents a preliminary techno-economic model for superhot rock energy, estimating that Nth-of-a-kind (NOAK) plants could achieve a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) between $20-35 per megawatt-hour (MWh). The model categorizes costs into well field development, power plant construction, and project financing, assuming a 250 MWe plant capacity and a 30-year lifetime. Key findings indicate that flow rate is the most significant driver of LCOE, while reductions in drilling costs alone have a relatively minor impact on overall capital expenditures. The analysis compares two technology regimes: one based on current drilling and casing technology and another assuming advanced 'energy drilling' that eliminates the need for casing. The report emphasizes that commercialization depends on breakthroughs in high-temperature materials, such as casing and cementing, and thermal reservoir creation.

The report establishes a statistical framework for the natural infrastructure sector in the Canadian Prairies, dividing it into watershed management, municipal natural infrastructure, education/training, and regulatory/public administration. Using 2022 as a baseline, it projects that a 'Stretch Growth' scenario involving CAD 100 million annual investment would increase total jobs in the region to 73,420 and total GDP to CAD 8.2 billion by 2030.

Climate Central analyzed precipitation data from 1969-70 to 2022-23 for the contiguous U.S., finding that while some regions have balanced seasonal rainfall, others rely heavily on a single season. Specifically, the West and Northwest are dominated by winter precipitation, while the Plains and Upper Midwest rely on summer rainfall. Climate change is altering these patterns, with a general increase in precipitation east of the Rockies and a decrease to the west. Warmer temperatures are increasing atmospheric moisture—approximately 10% more since 1970—which enhances extremes such as heavy downpours and intensifying droughts.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) provides a framework for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and selected Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs to transition from application to action. CATF emphasizes prioritizing hydrogen for hard-to-abate sectors, ensuring transparency in project planning, coordinating funding across federal programs, and deepening community engagement to ensure equitable and climate-beneficial outcomes.

The guide outlines how state, local, and tribal governments can utilize CPRG funding to reduce methane emissions by implementing upstream organic waste diversion and downstream landfill gas controls. It emphasizes the use of 20-year global warming potential (GWP) for GHG inventories to highlight the urgency of methane action and details specific policy measures, such as organic waste bans and advanced monitoring technology, to achieve rapid emissions reductions and community benefits.

The document reports that the average person in the U.S. breathed more harmful wildfire smoke in 2023 than in any year since 2006, driven largely by record-shattering wildfires in Canada. It details how fine particle pollution (PM2.5) from these fires travels thousands of miles, affecting every county in the contiguous U.S. and stalling air quality improvements in 30 states. The text links these trends to a warming climate and increasing 'fire weather,' noting that human-caused climate change accounts for at least two-thirds of the rapid increase in fire weather in the western U.S.

The California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is a market-based regulation designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by capping the carbon intensity of fuels. The program uses a credit and deficit system where fuels with lower carbon intensity than a gasoline/diesel benchmark generate credits, while higher-intensity fuels generate deficits. These credits can be generated through fuel supply, carbon capture and storage projects, or zero-emissions vehicle infrastructure capacity. While the program has spurred innovation in low-carbon fuels, critics like the NRDC argue that it over-incentivizes biomass-based fuels—which account for nearly three-quarters of credits—potentially diverting resources from the transition to electricity and zero-emissions vehicles.

The guide explains how Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) function as 'nutrition labels' for building materials by reporting life-cycle assessment (LCA) data, specifically Global Warming Potential (GWP). It argues that current EPDs suffer from inconsistencies due to varying data sources and proprietary datasets. To achieve an 'ideal EPD' that supports fair carbon reduction policies, the author recommends that Product Category Rules (PCRs) mandate facility-specific data, limit product variation within single reported values, and require supply-chain-specific data for upstream processes. The document also identifies barriers to adoption, such as high up-front costs for small businesses and the lack of a universal public database, while noting US government initiatives like the EPA's grant program and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 aimed at advancing EPD development.

The report details the corporate restructuring of Corizon Health into two entities, YesCare and Corizon (later Tehum Care Services), in May 2022. This 'Texas two-step' maneuver allocated the majority of legal liabilities and service provider contracts to the original Corizon entity while transferring cash, employees, and active client contracts to YesCare. In February 2023, Corizon filed for bankruptcy, pausing numerous lawsuits alleging medical malpractice and wrongful death. The report argues that this process allows the private equity-owned company to evade up to $50 million in liabilities and avoid reputational damage while continuing operations under the YesCare brand.

Mass timber, including cross-laminated timber, offers a lower-carbon alternative to steel and concrete, potentially reducing building material emissions by 13% to 26.5%. In the U.S., the number of projects grew to 1,860 by June 2023, supported by USDA Wood Innovations Grants and the 2018 Farm Bill. While it provides carbon storage and supports forest health by utilizing small-diameter trees, challenges include moisture-related risks like fungi and mold, which require specific mitigation techniques.

The document defines mass timber as a class of engineered wood materials, such as cross-laminated timber, capable of supporting large structures. It highlights benefits including carbon storage, a potential 13% to 26.5% reduction in building material emissions, and wildfire risk mitigation through the removal of small-diameter trees. The text also details U.S. federal support via the USDA Wood Innovations Program and the 2018 Farm Bill, while addressing concerns regarding fire safety and moisture management.

A coalition of environmental organizations argues that mature and old-growth (MOG) forests are critical for carbon sequestration and biodiversity, and must be protected from logging via a national BLM rule. The document details the ecological value of MOG, identifies ongoing logging threats on BLM lands, and argues that such protections are consistent with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and Biden administration executive orders.

The document details a multi-stakeholder approach to ending plastic pollution, emphasizing source reduction, reuse systems, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). It advocates for a full life cycle approach that integrates environmental justice and data transparency to inform policy at local, state, and federal levels in the United States, while aligning with an upcoming global plastics treaty.

The document highlights the growing threat of extreme heat in Canada, noting its severe health impacts and economic costs. It advocates for a combination of mechanical cooling, urban greening, updated labor standards, and improved early warning systems to mitigate these risks.