Search Climate Insights Directory
461 results
TRUMP’S FUEL ECONOMY STANDARD ROLLBACK WILL COST $450 BILLION THROUGH 2050, INCREASE EMISSIONS 11% THROUGH 2035
This research note by Energy Innovation analyzes the economic and environmental impacts of a proposed Trump Administration policy to freeze federal fuel economy standards for cars and SUVs at 2020 levels, undoing planned increases for model years 2022 to 2025.
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Document type: Research paper
BETTER RENTALS, BETTER CITY
This report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) advocates for the implementation of Minimum Efficiency Standards for Rentals (MESR) as a strategy for cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve residential energy security. Using the 'SmartRegs' program in Boulder, Colorado, as a primary case study, the document provides a seven-step roadmap for other cities to integrate energy efficiency requirements into their rental licensing processes.
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Document type: Report
Four Insights from the Most Successful NZE Home Builders
This executive summary by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) outlines four key insights derived from interviews with eight leading net-zero energy (NZE) home builders in the US, who collectively account for 20 percent of the country's single-family NZE homes. The document discusses the economic viability of NZE homes, strategies for customer acquisition, the impact of labor shortages on construction methods, and the risk-mitigation benefits of building high-performance homes.
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Document type: Executive summary
Ride-Hailing Drivers Are Ideal Candidates for Electric Vehicles
This guide by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues that ride-hailing drivers for transportation network companies (TNCs) are ideal candidates for electric vehicle (EV) adoption due to high vehicle utilization, which maximizes savings on fuel and maintenance and increases potential carbon offsets.
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Document type: Guide
Green Bond Fact Sheet
The San Rafael Joint Powers Financing Authority issued a USD 45.5 million green bond on March 26, 2018, to fund a new public safety centre and two fire stations, all of which achieved LEED Gold certification.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Green Securitisation
This briefing by the Climate Bonds Initiative explains how green securitisation—the process of creating asset-backed securities (ABS) from low-carbon assets—can unlock finance for small-scale projects. It details various structures including synthetic ABS, PACE ABS, solar ABS, and green mortgage-backed securities, highlighting how aggregating small assets allows institutional investors to provide capital to SMEs and urban infrastructure.
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Document type: Briefing
Comparing U.S. and Chinese Electric Vehicle Policies
This research paper compares the electric vehicle (EV) policies of the United States and China, focusing on financial incentives, charging infrastructure, research and development, and fleet procurement. It highlights China's more aggressive approach to subsidies and mandates compared to the U.S. system of tax credits and state-level incentives.
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Document type: Research paper
Subpoenaed Exxon Yet?
A statement by CIEL President & CEO Carroll Muffett criticizing Exxon's legal strategy of filing discovery requests and lawsuits against public officials, attorneys, and organizations investigating the company's role in the climate crisis.
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Document type: Statement
Making Customer Battery Storage Work for a Cleaner, Less Expensive Grid
This briefing by RMI argues that current commercial electricity rate designs, specifically noncoincident demand charges, encourage inefficient battery storage use that can conflict with the needs of renewable-heavy power grids. The document advocates for a transition to time-varying rates and compensation for grid services to better align customer incentives with system-wide operational requirements.
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Document type: Briefing
FINDING VALUE IN THE ENERGY FUTURE
This report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) explores how electric utilities can move beyond traditional bill assistance to collaborate with low-and moderate-income (LMI) customers. It identifies new business models leveraging distributed energy resources (DERs) to reduce energy burdens, improve health and environmental outcomes, and create grid value.
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Document type: Report
Economic and climate challenges in the Mendoza wine region
This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the socio-economic and climate-related vulnerabilities of the Mendoza wine region in Argentina. It highlights a divide between large, efficient growers and smallholders who struggle with quality standards and economic stability. The document also analyzes the region's dependence on mountain snowmelt and glaciers for water, noting that current water laws are outdated for current climate trends, and suggests looking to California's groundwater management as a potential model for reform.
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Document type: Briefing
FHA Should Reconsider Its About-Face—About PACE
The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues that the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) decision to stop insuring new mortgages on homes with property assessed clean energy (PACE) loans is misguided. RMI contends that the FHA overstates the risks of PACE while ignoring the significant default risks associated with high energy costs in inefficient homes.
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Document type: Statement
INSIDER: The Climate Effect of the Trump Administration
This briefing by the World Resources Institute examines the potential impact of the Trump administration's climate policy rollbacks on U.S. and global greenhouse gas emissions, while evaluating the capacity of subnational actors to offset these increases.
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Document type: Briefing
SUNSHINE FOR MINES: A SECOND LIFE FOR LEGACY MINING SITES
This RMI insight brief presents the 'Sunshine for Mines' program, which provides a methodology for transforming legacy or inactive mine sites from financial liabilities into revenue-generating assets through the development of renewable energy and storage solutions.
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Document type: Briefing
Proposition A First Tier Senior Sales Tax Revenue Bonds, Series 2017-A (Green Bonds) and Proposition A First Tier Senior Sales Tax Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2017-B
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) issued $556,850,000 in Proposition A First Tier Senior Sales Tax Revenue Bonds in October 2017. This includes $471,395,000 in Series 2017-A 'Green Bonds' for rail transit projects and $85,455,000 in Series 2017-B refunding bonds. The bonds are secured by a first lien on a one-half cent retail sales tax in Los Angeles County and carry high credit ratings (Moody’s Aa1, S&P AAA).
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Document type: Report
SOLUTIONS TO THE UTILITY INFORMATION PROBLEM
This research paper examines the 'utility information problem'—the lack of data regarding the locational value of distributed energy resources (DERs)—which obscures the boundaries of the electric distribution utility's natural monopoly. The author proposes that integrated distribution planning (IDP) is necessary to reveal this information, enabling a transition toward a Distribution System Optimizer (DSO) role. The paper evaluates two pathways to this transition: an information-intensive approach compatible with cost-of-service regulation and an outcome-focused approach utilizing performance-based regulation (PBR).
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Document type: Research paper
States, cities and businesses leading the way: a first look at decentralized climate commitments in the US
A report by the NewClimate Institute and The Climate Group analyzing decentralized climate commitments in the US, finding that 342 commitments could enable the US to meet half of its Paris Agreement goals by 2025.
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Document type: Report
R-PACE: A GAME-CHANGER FOR NET-ZERO ENERGY HOMES
This insight brief by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues that Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (R-PACE) financing can accelerate the adoption of net-zero energy (NZE) new construction in the United States. By attaching financing to the property rather than the owner, R-PACE addresses key market barriers such as high up-front capital costs and the split incentive between builders and homebuyers.
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Document type: Briefing
The U.S. Climate Alliance and Related Actions
This fact sheet describes the formation and goals of the United States Climate Alliance and other subnational efforts to uphold the 2016 Paris Agreement following the Trump Administration's decision to withdraw the United States from the accord.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Energy Efficiency Standards for Appliances, Lighting, and Equipment
This fact sheet describes the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) program for implementing minimum energy and water efficiency standards for appliances and equipment under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. It details the economic, environmental, and technological benefits of these standards, the role of voluntary programs like ENERGY STAR, and the impact of regional standards on heating and cooling products.
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Document type: Fact sheet