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The Energy Policy Simulator is a real-time, open-source tool that measures the cost and emissions impacts of over 50 climate and energy policies across all greenhouse gas emitting sectors in the U.S. The model, which is peer-reviewed by several national laboratories and universities, allows users to create custom policy scenarios using publicly available data and visualize results via a web application.

Hammarby Sjöstad is a sustainable urban district in Stockholm developed on a former industrial brownfield. The project utilizes the 'Hammarby Model,' a closed-loop system integrating waste, energy, and water cycles to minimize environmental impact. While the district achieved significant success in soil remediation, transit-oriented development, and waste management—including a vacuum waste system that reduced landfill use to 0.7%—it did not fully meet its original energy consumption targets. Economically, the project demonstrated that high environmental standards can increase property values, with a 25% increase in value despite 5% higher construction costs. The development was characterized by a 'triple helix' collaboration between government, private developers, and academia.

The guidelines focus on three categories: urban form, transportation, and energy and resources. They aim to reduce pollution, congestion, and carbon emissions while improving economic vitality and livability through specific benchmarks for urban growth boundaries, transit-oriented development, mixed-use zoning, and resource efficiency.

The 'Green and Smart Town Development Guidelines' by China Development Bank Capital outlines 12 measurable green guidelines across urban form, transport, and energy/resources, alongside six smart city strategies. The guide aims to reduce urbanization costs from 8.6% to 6.8% of GDP by implementing compact development, transit-oriented design, and resource efficiency. It provides specific benchmarks, such as limiting block sizes to 2 hectares and requiring 70% of buildings to meet MOHURD one-star green standards, supported by international case studies from Portland, Stockholm, and Copenhagen.

The document analyzes the transformation of Portland's Pearl District from a deindustrialized warehouse area into a high-density, mixed-use neighborhood. It highlights the synergy between transit-oriented development, historic preservation, and innovative financing mechanisms like Tax Increment Financing (TIF). The Brewery Blocks are presented as a premier example of sustainable design, featuring LEED-certified buildings and a district cooling system. The report concludes that prioritizing livability, human capital, and stakeholder collaboration is essential for sustainable urban growth.

The guidelines establish a 'first green, then smart' approach, where smart technologies are used to optimize the outcomes of sustainable urban design. The framework covers six smart categories: telecommunications, mobility, governance, energy management, safety, and public services, supported by global case studies to demonstrate economic and environmental viability.

The report argues that smart growth—characterized by compact, walkable, and transit-oriented development—is essential for California to meet its 2030 climate targets. By combining aggressive energy technology deployment with 'More Compact' or 'Infill Focus' land use scenarios, the state could achieve statewide emissions reductions of 40-41% below 1990 levels. Beyond carbon mitigation, the study quantifies significant co-benefits, including billions of dollars in household and infrastructure cost savings, improved public health outcomes, and the conservation of hundreds of square miles of land.

The paper examines how different DER ownership models can be used to integrate cost-effective technologies into outdated regulatory frameworks. It argues that no single model is universal, but each can work if the value proposition aligns with the public interest and utilizes an adaptive approach prioritizing fair compensation and transparency. Utility-owned models are effective for early adoption and public goals but risk cost overruns and market power issues. Third-party and customer-owned models excel when they have transparent access to the full value of DERs through dynamic rate design or competitive markets.

The document presents a framework for achieving clean air in China, emphasizing the need for a robust air quality management system, the application of Best Available Control Technologies (BACT), and the alignment of fiscal policies with pollution goals. It advocates for the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, the implementation of a coal cap to reduce coal's share of the energy structure to less than 50% by 2030, and the adoption of Euro 6 fuel standards by 2018 for heavy-duty trucks and off-road vehicles. The experts highlight that integrating air pollutant and greenhouse gas reductions is more cost-effective than treating them separately.

The report argues that sustainable urban design, guided by 'The 8 Principles' (Walk, Connect, Transit, Cycle, Mix, Densify, Compact, Shift), delivers significant environmental, economic, and social benefits. It provides a comprehensive review of data from Chinese cities and international examples to demonstrate that reducing car dependence and increasing density improves air quality, boosts property values, and enhances public health. The document specifically highlights China's unprecedented scale of urbanization as a critical area for applying these principles to avoid the pitfalls of 'superblocks' and car-centric planning.

The document proposes replacing the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and the Efficiency Savings and Performance Incentive (ESPI) with a system-wide carbon intensity standard and per capita energy sales standards. It argues that these reforms will align utility incentives with state climate goals, encourage low-carbon grid flexibility, and remove the conservative goal-setting and contentious evaluation processes currently hindering energy efficiency in existing buildings.

The document proposes replacing California's current electricity sector policies with a system-wide carbon standard and per capita energy intensity standards for electricity and natural gas. It argues that the existing Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and Efficiency Savings and Performance Incentive (ESPI) are insufficient for long-term goals due to siloed procurement and overly conservative efficiency targets. Key recommendations include a 2030 carbon standard of 393lb. CO2e/MWh, a 50 percent renewable energy procurement "backbone," and a performance-based energy standard targeting a 1.2 percent annual reduction in kWh/capita. The report also suggests expanding the Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) to a West-wide scale and expediting the implementation of AB 758 for existing buildings.

Energy Innovation proposes a post-2020 policy framework for California centered on a 2030 statewide carbon cap of 40 percent below 1990 levels. The recommendations include decarbonizing the electricity sector through carbon standards and a 50 percent renewable energy target, expanding transportation policies via the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and vehicle electrification, and establishing global benchmarks for methane emission standards in oil and gas operations.

The report proposes a 2030 target for California to reduce carbon emissions to 40% below 1990 levels, asserting that this is technically feasible and economically viable. It recommends maintaining a policy portfolio where a broad cap-and-trade program acts as an emissions ceiling over sector-specific policies. To manage costs and uncertainty, the author suggests extending current cost-containment tools, including a three-tiered allowance reserve and a forward-borrowing mechanism. The analysis incorporates both capped emissions and uncapped sectors—such as agriculture and waste—predicting that the state can reach the target through commercially available technology and induced innovation in clean tech industries.

The report examines three 'gold' rated transit-oriented developments—Hammarby Sjöstad in Sweden, Quartier Vauban in Germany, and Liuyun Xiaoqu in China—to illustrate the practical application of 'The 8 Principles' for sustainable urban design. These principles emphasize walking, cycling, high-quality transit, mixed-use zoning, density, and compact growth to reduce car dependency. The findings show that such designs lead to significant environmental benefits, such as lower emissions and water use, and economic gains, including higher property values and strong market demand, while only marginally increasing construction costs compared to traditional methods.

The document examines the shift from centralized to decentralized electricity structures through distributed energy resources, proposing three policy pathways: analyzing cost-benefit trade-offs, reforming utility business models and wholesale markets to increase competitiveness, and fostering technological innovation to accelerate the adoption of renewable resources.

The document provides a comprehensive review of empirical studies demonstrating that compact, transit-oriented, and walkable urban design leads to lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduced infrastructure costs, and increased labor productivity. It highlights specific findings from China, such as the negative energy impacts of 'superblocks' in Jinan and the property value premiums associated with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Beijing and Guangzhou. The report also emphasizes the cost-effectiveness of BRT over light rail and the public health benefits of non-motorized transit, while identifying research gaps in developer-side profit data and the specific productivity effects of density in Chinese cities.

The briefing outlines a strategic policy framework for California to maintain its climate leadership and reach its 2050 emissions targets. It emphasizes the need for a 2030 carbon cap to provide investment certainty and recommends specific reforms: transitioning utilities to performance-based regulation, implementing energy labels for existing buildings, enhancing the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and establishing 'gold standard' methane emissions regulations. The authors also advocate for regional cooperation with other U.S. states and technical collaboration with China to scale clean energy technologies globally.

The document analyzes state green banks as quasi-governmental financial institutions designed to leverage public funds to increase private investment in clean energy and energy efficiency. It details the operational model of Connecticut's CEFIA, highlighting its use of credit enhancements and diverse financing tools to bridge the 'deployment gap' for commercially available technologies. The paper also reviews emerging green bank models in New York, Vermont, and Hawaii, while discussing the systemic benefits and drawbacks of state-level financing authorities.

The report details a September 2013 briefing on America’s Power Plan (APP), focusing on the transition to a high-renewables future in the U.S. Midwest. It examines the need for new utility business models to handle decarbonization and distributed energy resources (DERs), highlights Minnesota's legislative progress on solar and renewable standards, and discusses Xcel Energy's experience integrating variable wind power. Key recommendations include adopting performance-based regulation, streamlining 'soft costs' for solar PV, and integrating distribution planning into state resource processes.