Search Climate Insights Directory

A statement by EESI Executive Director Daniel Bresette arguing that addressing racial inequality and injustice is a prerequisite for successfully meeting the challenges of climate change and achieving an equitable transition to a clean energy economy.

A June 2020 briefing transcript featuring Margarita Varela-Rosa of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources and Ernesto Diaz of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. The discussion focuses on the challenges of coastal resilience, the impact of major natural disasters in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the barriers to accessing federal funding for recovery and nature-based infrastructure.

This briefing transcript from June 2020 features a discussion on enhancing housing and community resilience in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands following natural disasters like Hurricane Maria. Panelists Laurie Schoeman and Arturo Massol-Deyá discuss the critical role of affordable housing, distributed solar energy, and community-led initiatives in mitigating climate risks and reducing dependency on failing centralized power grids.

This briefing transcript features a discussion between community advocate Ruth Santiago and Dr. Greg Guannel regarding energy transition, public health, and coastal resilience in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands following the devastation of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

A joint letter from energy and environmental organizations urging the U.S. Congress to include support for innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy financing programs, specifically on-bill financing, in a post-coronavirus economic stimulus package.

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.

The University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group (CIG) promotes climate resilience in the American northwest by providing research and tools to at-risk communities, including tribes. The CIG emphasizes transparency regarding scientific uncertainty to aid decision-making and employs a trans-boundary approach to environmental issues, collaborating with partners in Canada. While the network of eight regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) provides critical local expertise and technical advice, the demand for these services currently exceeds available resources.

This briefing summarizes a presentation by Dr. Marcy Rockman on the intersection of cultural heritage and climate change, focusing on the data challenges and recommendations for incorporating historical and cultural considerations into the U.S. climate response.

This briefing from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) emphasizes the necessity of localized climate data for policymakers and highlights two free online tools provided by the NGO Climate Central to map sea-level rise and coastal flood risks across the United States and globally.

This briefing features an interview with Dr. Rob Young of Western Carolina University regarding a project to map and evaluate the vulnerability of National Park Service (NPS) coastal assets to sea level rise and flooding to inform adaptation decisions.

This briefing summarizes testimony and discussions from the 116th Congress regarding the necessity of up-to-date geophysical, hydrologic, and planetary-scale data, as well as the role of artificial intelligence, in understanding Earth processes and informing climate adaptation and disaster response.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) issued a statement on April 7, 2020, confirming that its work on federal climate policy and clean energy financing continues despite the COVID-19 pandemic, while detailing operational shifts to remote work and online briefings.

This briefing transcript features experts from Washington Sea Grant discussing the development and implementation of localized sea level rise projections for coastal managers and decision-makers in Washington State. The presentation details the transition from broad regional assessments to a probabilistic, localized framework that accounts for vertical land movement, and describes how this data is being integrated into urban planning, habitat restoration, and community-led resilience strategies.

This briefing transcript features Rob Young, Director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, discussing a multi-year collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct asset-level vulnerability assessments for coastal parks. The project aims to guide adaptation and resilience policy by quantifying the exposure and sensitivity of individual infrastructure assets to coastal hazards, providing a science-based framework for funding allocation and planning.

This briefing features archaeologist Marcy Rockman discussing the critical but often overlooked role of archaeology and cultural heritage in climate change response. Rockman argues that the U.S. approach to heritage is fragmented and underfunded compared to natural resource management, leading to a lack of social science integration in major climate assessments. She proposes the creation of a federal Climate Heritage Coordination Office and increased NGO engagement to better utilize historical data on sustainability and human adaptation to inform modern climate strategies.

This briefing transcript features Dr. Amy Snover, Director of the Climate Impacts Group and the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, discussing strategies to integrate climate science into decision-making. The discussion focuses on the co-production of data with stakeholders, specifically highlighting sea level rise planning in Washington State and vulnerability assessments for Northwest and Great Basin tribes.

This briefing transcript features Mary Austerman of New York Sea Grant discussing the integration of weather and social science data to support participatory planning and coastal resilience in New York's Great Lakes region, specifically focusing on Lake Ontario.

This transcript of a virtual briefing hosted by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) in April 2020 examines the threats to coastal resilience in Alaska. Panelists discuss the compounding effects of permafrost thaw, sea ice loss, and extreme precipitation on infrastructure and food security, while highlighting the critical need to integrate indigenous knowledge with western science and overcome systemic barriers to funding and coordination.

This written testimony from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations requests at least level funding for fiscal year 2021 for several U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) programs focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) issued a statement on March 5, 2020, urging the U.S. Senate to include building energy code provisions in the American Energy Innovation Act (S. 2657). EESI argues that omitting these provisions severely limits the bill's potential for emissions reductions and denies homeowners lower utility bills.