Search Climate Insights Directory
461 results
From Waste to Wins: How Orange County’s Smart Landfills Are Slashing Methane
This case study describes how Orange County Waste & Recycling (OCWR) is reducing methane emissions through a dual strategy of organic waste diversion via composting and the implementation of a 'Smart Landfill Program' (SLP) utilizing automation, drones, and robotic sensors.
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Document type: Case study
Ecosystem Services Across Borders: A Framework for Transboundary Conservation Policy
This research paper proposes using the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) framework as an organizing principle for transboundary conservation policy to address the fact that political borders rarely align with ecological boundaries.
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Document type: Research paper
Chemistry in Transition: Charting solutions for a low-emissions chemical industry
This report by RMI analyzes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the US chemical industry, focusing on six primary chemicals: hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, ethylene, propylene, and benzene. It identifies 20 emissions reduction levers across four categories—alternative production methods, alternative heat sources, cleaner operations, and alternative feedstocks—and evaluates their current deployability and maximum potential to reach a net-zero sector by 2050.
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Document type: Report
Solar met 61% of US electricity demand growth in 2025
This report by Ember analyses Energy Information Administration (EIA) data to demonstrate how solar power and battery storage met a significant portion of the United States' rising electricity demand in 2025.
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Document type: Report
Offshore, Off-Limits
This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) examines the environmental, climate, health, and financial risks associated with the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure. It highlights how improper closure and the proliferation of abandoned wells lead to methane leaks and toxic contamination, while corporate strategies and regulatory loopholes often shift the massive financial burden of cleanup from operators to the public.
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Document type: Briefing
Friends of the Earth U.S. Analysis on the Biden Administration’s Deforestation Policy Framework
Friends of the Earth U.S. analyzes the Biden-Harris administration's 6-point policy framework aimed at reducing U.S. imports of products linked to deforestation. While commending the framework's direction, the organization advocates for a holistic approach to illegal deforestation, the establishment of a public due diligence system independent of third-party certifications, and the passage of the federal FOREST Act.
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Document type: Statement
Electric Rates Can Help or Hinder Heat Pump Progress
This policy brief by RMI argues that current electricity rate designs in the United States often overcharge heat pump users, creating a financial barrier to home electrification. The document explains that because many utility costs are driven by summer peak demand, customers who add electricity demand in the winter (via heat pumps) may pay more than the actual cost of service. RMI proposes several rate reform strategies—including seasonal heating rates, time-varying rates, and separate customer classes—to align electricity pricing with actual system costs and support decarbonization goals.
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Document type: Policy brief
ENERGY PARKS
This report defines "energy parks" as large-scale microgrids that co-locate renewable energy generation, storage, and electricity consumers (loads) behind a single point of interconnection (POI) to the bulk power grid. The authors argue that this model reduces equipment costs, accelerates the "time to power" for industrial loads, and provides flexible grid services. The document outlines the evolution of these parks from simple solar farms with high inverter-loading ratios to complex hybrids involving thermal batteries and hydrogen electrolysis. It identifies significant regulatory hurdles, including interconnection queue delays, wholesale market participation rules, and state-level utility monopolies, and proposes a shift toward treating energy parks as "digital resources" with a universal participation model.
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Document type: Report
The Justice and Governance of Solar Geoengineering: Charting the Path at COP29 and Beyond
This research paper examines the governance challenges of solar radiation modification (SRM), arguing that the current fragmented landscape risks unilateral deployment and the marginalization of the Global South. The authors advocate for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to formally integrate SRM into its agenda, specifically suggesting COP29 in Baku as a starting point to ensure that ethical, social, and justice-based considerations guide the technology's development.
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Document type: Research paper
Clean flexibility is the brain managing the clean power system
The report outlines a portfolio of nine 'clean flexibility' tools categorized into storing, shifting, sharing, and supplying electricity to ensure grid stability in a renewable-heavy power system. It emphasizes that while storage and grids are critical, a comprehensive approach including demand-side management and flexible generation is necessary to achieve a fully clean electricity supply every hour.
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Document type: Report
US States and Carbon Dioxide Removal: Leadership Opportunities and Key Principles for Policymakers
This guide outlines how US states can leverage carbon dioxide removal (CDR) for economic development and climate goals. It recommends that states adopt approach-neutral, performance-based definitions of CDR, set intermediate removal targets based on carbon budgets, and create streamlined regulatory environments. The document emphasizes the necessity of inclusive community engagement, transparency, and the prioritization of co-benefits for disadvantaged communities to ensure safe and equitable deployment.
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Document type: Guide
Reimagining Utility Climate Risk Planning
This briefing by RMI outlines a four-step framework for utilities and regulators to integrate physical and transition climate risks into long-term planning to ensure grid reliability and affordability. It argues that current utility planning often silos climate risk or ignores transition risks, leading to higher costs for ratepayers, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
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Document type: Briefing
Fossil fuels impact on weather events in the United States
This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the link between fossil fuel emissions and extreme weather events in the United States, detailing the role of the oil and gas industry in climate damages and the current state of the US energy transition.
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Document type: Briefing
Financing Solar Panels Just Became Much Easier. Thank the Climate Bill.
This case study describes how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) enables a new third-party financing model for solar energy, specifically benefiting low-income households and nonprofits. It highlights the installation of a 12kW solar array at the Watts-Willowbrook Church of Christ in Compton, California, as a primary example of this model in action.
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Document type: Case study
THE SECOND HALF OF THE DECISIVE DECADE
This research paper by Energy Innovation evaluates the potential impacts of two divergent U.S. policy pathways on greenhouse gas emissions, the economy, and public health through 2050. It compares a 'Continued Climate Leadership' scenario, aimed at meeting the U.S. Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), against a 'Project 2025' scenario, which involves repealing major climate laws and expanding fossil fuel production. The analysis finds that the Continued Climate Leadership pathway would significantly reduce emissions, create millions of jobs, and lower household energy costs, while the Project 2025 pathway would increase emissions, lead to substantial job losses, and raise energy costs for households.
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Document type: Research paper
Clean Energy 101: How Batteries Can Support Grid Reliability
This briefing by RMI argues that battery energy storage systems (BESS) are a cleaner, more flexible, and often more cost-effective alternative to fossil fuel resources for maintaining electric grid reliability. It details how batteries can manage variable renewable energy, provide critical stability services, and support grid restoration, while urging utilities to adopt all-source procurement processes to identify the most cost-optimal reliability solutions.
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Document type: Briefing
The Business Case for Reducing Embodied Carbon: 9 Investments Commercial Real Estate Developers Can Make Today
This guide by RMI outlines the business case for commercial real estate developers to reduce embodied carbon—the emissions from material production and construction—which accounts for an estimated 11% of global emissions. It presents nine specific investment strategies divided into building-level and corporate-level actions to mitigate transition risks, reduce development costs, and create competitive advantages.
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Document type: Guide
The Climate Crisis Domino Effect
This research paper by the Center for International Environmental Law examines how climate-induced extreme weather is driving an insurance crisis in the United States, which in turn threatens housing affordability and financial stability. The authors argue that insurance companies are exacerbating the crisis by raising premiums to recoup losses while simultaneously reinvesting profits into fossil fuel companies.
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Document type: Research paper
Unnatural Disasters: The Connection Between Extreme Weather and Fossil Fuels
This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the causal link between fossil fuel emissions and the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. It details the role of 'Carbon Majors' in global emissions, the financial disparity between industry profits and climate damages, and the growing use of litigation to hold these companies accountable. The document argues that a managed phase-out of fossil fuels, through both supply and demand reductions, is essential to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
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Document type: Briefing
Evidence Shows Three Pillars Remain Crucial for 45V Hydrogen Tax Credit to Protect Climate, Consumers, Industry
This research note by Energy Innovation argues that the U.S. Treasury Department must maintain the "three pillars" (incremental, deliverable, and hourly-matched clean electricity) in the final rules for the Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. The author contends that weakening these rules would undermine climate goals, increase electricity costs for consumers, and stifle the development of a flexible, domestic electrolyzer industry.
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Document type: Research paper