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461 results
Agua Sin Límites
The 'Agua Sin Límites' (Water Without Limits) initiative by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) proposes a new agenda for sustainable water management. It aims to address the limitations of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) by focusing on tele-connections beyond the basin, multi-scale participatory approaches to address social inequalities, and the early integration of ecosystem needs into planning.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Top 10 Priorities for President Biden to Tackle the Climate Crisis
This WRI commentary by Dan Lashof outlines 10 high-impact priority actions for the Biden administration to address the climate crisis, emphasizing a whole-of-government response that integrates economic recovery, racial justice, and aggressive emissions reductions.
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Document type: Briefing
Goal 9 assessment
The Goal 9 assessment evaluates progress toward rewarding countries and jurisdictions that reduce forest emissions through public policies, results-based finance, and private-sector sourcing. As of 2020, nearly USD 4.7 billion in results-based finance has been committed since 2010, with disbursements increasing to over USD 260 million annually in recent years. The report also highlights the role of carbon markets, which have channeled USD 2.5 billion to forest projects over 20 years, and the emergence of domestic compliance schemes that allow forest carbon credits.
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Document type: Report
The New (Ab)Normal
The briefing 'The New (Ab)Normal' describes the escalating frequency and severity of climate-driven catastrophes, using the 2020 wildfire season in Colorado and the western United States as a primary example. It argues that the world has entered a state of 'continuous escalation of catastrophe' and outlines five critical areas of impact: mass migration, health threats, financial instability, the need for resilient rebuilding, and the necessity of updating the electric grid. The author emphasizes that immediate global action to reduce emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 is required to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
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Document type: Briefing
Now Is the Time for US Leadership on Electric Vehicles
This RMI briefing argues that the United States must accelerate its leadership in electric vehicle (EV) adoption to address climate change, noting that transportation is the country's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The document highlights rapid technological advancements in battery design, increasing demand from state governments and major corporations, and the necessity of scaling charging infrastructure to meet a zero-emissions mobility system by 2050.
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Document type: Briefing
Taking a Regional Approach to Electric Vehicle Readiness
This report by RMI analyzes the regional readiness of 60 prominent US cities for electric vehicle (EV) adoption, focusing on infrastructure beyond city centers to address 'range anxiety'. The analysis evaluates metropolitan area readiness, day-trip destination readiness, and airport readiness, highlighting that while some cities and regions (particularly in California) are well-prepared, significant gaps in DC fast-charger coverage persist along major highways in several states.
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Document type: Report
A RESILIENT FUTURE FOR COASTAL COMMUNITIES
This report by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) provides 30 federal policy recommendations to enhance the climate resilience of U.S. coastal communities. Based on a series of 16 Congressional briefings featuring 42 experts, the document outlines strategies across six themes: community engagement, land use and development, cultural heritage, climate data, disaster preparedness, and financing. It emphasizes the need for policies based on future climate projections, the integration of climate justice, and the prioritization of nature-based solutions over traditional gray infrastructure.
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Document type: Report
Stockholm and the Birth of Environmental Diplomacy
This policy brief examines the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, detailing its origins, the diplomatic tensions between developed and developing nations, and its lasting impact on international environmental law and the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
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Document type: Policy brief
The Wonders of Weatherization: Improving Equity through Stimulus Funding
This briefing argues that increasing stimulus funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) can address systemic racial and income inequities in the United States by improving energy affordability, creating domestic jobs, and enhancing public health for low-income households.
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Document type: Briefing
How to Stay Cool while Saving Energy
This guide by RMI provides strategies for maintaining cool indoor temperatures while reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, particularly during heat waves. It outlines passive cooling methods, natural ventilation techniques, and efficient cooling technologies, supported by two case studies of net-zero and super-insulated homes in Colorado.
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Document type: Guide
POLICIES TO SUPPORT A COMPETITIVE WHOLESALE ELECTRICITY MARKET IN THE SOUTHEAST U.S.
This report argues that establishing a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) in the Southeast U.S. could reduce electricity costs by 29% and emissions by 37% by 2040. It recommends a combination of full market restructuring, the adoption of all-source procurement, and the integration of distributed energy resources to achieve these goals. The authors also emphasize the need for 'just transition' policies to support coal-impacted communities by leveraging the fact that most coal plants have cheaper renewable alternatives within 35 miles.
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Document type: Report
WHY THE CLEAN ENERGY INDUSTRY SHOULD BE INTERESTED IN RESOURCE ADEQUACY
This policy brief by Energy Innovation examines how the transition to clean energy challenges traditional 'resource adequacy' planning—the process of ensuring grid operators have sufficient resources to balance supply and demand. The author argues that historical planning paradigms, which rely on dispatchable fossil fuel plants and simple peak-demand metrics, are becoming inadequate as variable renewable energy (VRE) and distributed energy resources (DERs) increase. The document warns that fossil fuel incumbents are leveraging these reliability concerns to protect their market share and slow decarbonization, urging climate advocates to promote more granular, flexible, and holistic planning models.
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Document type: Policy brief
Regulatory Solutions for Building Decarbonization
This report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for decarbonizing the US building sector, primarily through electrification. It outlines ten key strategies for public utilities commissions (PUCs) and government agencies to transition away from fossil fuel infrastructure, emphasizing equity, market transformation, and the management of stranded asset risks.
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Document type: Report
Green Bond Fact Sheet
This fact sheet details a USD 900 million green loan issued by Geysers Power Company (GPC) on June 1, 2020, to refinance geothermal plant investments and ongoing expenditures. The loan is certified under the Climate Bonds Standard v2.1 and represents the first geothermal energy certification in the United States.
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Document type: Fact sheet
MODELING THE CLIMATE CRISIS ACTION PLAN
This report by Energy Innovation models a subset of policy recommendations from the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis's 'Solving the Climate Crisis' action plan. Using the Energy Policy Simulator, the analysis evaluates the potential for these policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and generate health and climate benefits for the United States through 2050.
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Document type: Report
Implementing Life Cycle Carbon Emissions Standards in Urban Development
This case study by RMI examines the necessity of shifting building carbon regulations from a focus on operational emissions to a full life-cycle approach. It highlights the Meishan Near-Zero Carbon Zone in Ningbo, China, as a leading example of implementing life-cycle assessment (LCA) standards and a whole-process management mechanism to achieve deep decarbonization in urban development.
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Document type: Case study
Green Bond Fact Sheet
The Southern California Public Power Authority issued a USD 55 million US Municipal green bond on May 12, 2020, to refund outstanding bonds for the Linden Wind Energy Project, a 50MW wind farm in Washington state.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Ensuring a Fair Transition for US Fossil Fuel Workers in Economic Recovery
This policy brief argues that U.S. economic recovery efforts following COVID-19 must prioritize low-carbon investments and a 'fair transition' for fossil fuel workers to avoid locking in polluting infrastructure and to mitigate the economic disruption caused by decarbonization and automation.
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Document type: Policy brief
Wildlife Conservation Sees Bipartisan Support in 116th Congress
This briefing from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute outlines bipartisan legislative efforts in the 116th Congress to preserve biodiversity in the United States. It details proposed laws and testimony focusing on wildlife corridors, land preservation, the Endangered Species Act, and the management of invasive species to mitigate threats from climate change and habitat loss.
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Document type: Briefing
Prefabricated Zero Energy Retrofit Technologies
A report by RMI's REALIZE initiative, funded by the US Department of Energy, assessing prefabricated, high-performance retrofit technologies in the United States and the Netherlands to enable standardized zero-energy retrofits for multifamily housing.
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Document type: Report