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The briefing highlights the role of non-state actors in driving climate action despite insufficient national pledges. It identifies four mechanisms—certification schemes, demand aggregation, climate-aligned finance, and national alliances—that create 'ambition loops' to scale low-carbon solutions. Examples include India's Shoonya initiative for electric delivery, the US-based Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, the Poseidon Principles for shipping finance, and the America Is All In coalition.

The document argues that the more than 10,000 closed and inactive landfills in the United States represent a significant opportunity for solar development, as these sites typically have good sun exposure and limited other reuse potential. It aims to provide policymakers and developers with analysis and a set of incentives to integrate landfill solar into broader clean energy and environmental justice strategies.

The policy brief highlights how the current design of the residential solar investment tax credit (ITC 25D) disproportionately benefits high-income and White residents, as it requires federal income tax liability to be useful. RMI argues that transitioning to a 'direct pay' model—similar to proposed provisions for business-scale renewables—would enable over 100 million American households without sufficient tax liability to access incentives. Such a change would double the number of states where LMI families could use solar loans to reduce energy bills (from 19 to 38 states) and potentially generate an additional 1.2 GW of annual residential solar activity, creating over 26,400 jobs and $4 billion in economic activity within LMI communities.

The report argues that current GHG accounting systems rely too heavily on approximations and are unsuitable for comparing scope 3 emissions between companies. To resolve this, RMI proposes a framework consisting of unified accounting principles that prioritize primary data, a technical architecture based on distributed ledger technology to track embodied carbon at the product level, and the creation of "digital twins" of carbon emissions to enable emissions to function as a unit of trade. This system aims to transform climate intelligence into actionable business intelligence and support the development of a global carbon market under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

The Puerto Rico Community Energy Resilience Initiative (CERI) focuses on increasing energy resilience for low-to-moderate income communities by installing solar-plus-storage microgrids at critical facilities. Through pilot projects, CERI found that a community-driven approach, combined with flexible financing and technical assistance, is the most effective way to serve needs ignored by the current market. The initiative emphasizes local ownership to bolster local economies and the use of concessionary capital to make systems affordable for facilities with varying credit histories. Technical assistance is highlighted as essential for correct system sizing and procurement, while capacity building ensures long-term maintenance and sustainability.

The document advises US cities and communities to leverage existing federal funding opportunities to accelerate the clean energy transition. It highlights that the Biden Administration is integrating climate mitigation and racial equity into federal programs through initiatives like Justice40. The briefing recommends three strategies: understanding current funding landscapes via tools like the FFOLD tool, embedding environmental justice into project designs to increase competitiveness, and seeking funds from non-climate agencies such as those focused on health and economic development.

The document defines grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) as energy-efficient structures that adjust their energy load based on electricity cost or carbon intensity to reduce utility costs and greenhouse gas emissions. It identifies five specific low- or no-cost measures for GSA building managers to improve grid interactivity: optimizing building operation to occupancy patterns, optimizing thermal mass, maximizing existing storage capacity, optimizing control system algorithms, and automating controlled lighting.

Cincinnati is developing a local electric transportation ecosystem involving the manufacturing of electric step vans by Workhorse and their adoption by Servall Electric. Servall is transitioning its fleet of 25 to 30 vehicles to electric and participating in the Run on Less – Electric (RoL-e) demonstration. The transition has resulted in a 75 percent reduction in daily fuel costs, dropping from approximately $60 for gas to $15 for electricity. Beyond financial savings, the electric trucks offer driver benefits such as 'one pedal driving' via regenerative braking and a lower vehicle architecture that reduces physical strain on drivers. The document also notes that urban last-mile delivery emissions in the top 100 global cities could increase by over 30 percent by 2030, reaching 25 million tons of CO2 annually.

Large financial institutions are increasingly acquiring smaller firms specializing in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) expertise to improve their analytical capabilities regarding climate risk. This trend is driven by the need for high-quality data and the ability to integrate forward-looking climate scenarios into risk frameworks, partly spurred by the TCFD recommendations. The author predicts a similar wave of M&A activity will shift toward 'climate alignment'—the process of aligning portfolios with 1.5°C targets—as financial firms seek the proprietary data and technology necessary to meet net-zero commitments.

The briefing highlights that transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US, driven by a reliance on personal vehicles and sprawling land use. It asserts that reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 20% by 2030 is necessary to limit warming to 1.5°C, regardless of electric vehicle adoption. The author proposes a combination of smart growth development, transportation pricing signals, and roadway redesign to achieve these reductions, noting that an integrated transportation demand management (TDM) plan can compound these benefits.

The document introduces buyer-led aggregation as a method for local governments in the United States to transition to renewable energy by collaborating to purchase electricity from large-scale generation facilities. It outlines the benefits of this approach, procurement options, a seven-step implementation process, and provides five case studies of successful procurements.

The policy brief examines how African pension funds can bridge the renewable energy investment gap in sub-Saharan Africa. It proposes the use of 'renewable energy-backed' (RE) bonds to align long-term pension obligations with energy infrastructure projects, reducing reliance on foreign currency and mitigating exchange risks. The author identifies a significant funding gap, noting that Africa requires approximately $70 billion in annual renewable energy investment until 2030, while actual investment in sub-Saharan Africa was only $10 billion in 2018 and $30 billion in 2019. To unlock this potential, the document recommends the creation of green banks to coordinate finance, the implementation of government-backed guarantee schemes to lower risk perceptions for regulators, and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies to improve the competitiveness of clean energy.

The document calls for urgent action to address the climate crisis, asserting that the necessary zero-emissions technologies already exist and are increasingly cost-competitive. It advocates for a broad spectrum of solutions, the immediate end of fossil fuel subsidies, and the rapid shutdown of coal plants and other carbon-intensive assets to prevent the planet from reaching an unbearable hothouse earth scenario.

The document outlines the need for financial, operational, and policy reforms within India's power distribution companies (discoms) to overcome losses and enable the transition to a clean energy future.

The document contends that continued investment in US gas distribution infrastructure is counterproductive to climate goals, as the transition to electric appliances will likely leave these systems underutilized. It argues that low-carbon gases like hydrogen and biomethane are too expensive for residential and commercial use and should be reserved for industrial applications. Furthermore, it suggests that electrification and targeted leak detection are more cost-effective ways to reduce methane emissions than massive pipeline replacement programs, which risk creating stranded assets and imposing high costs on consumers.

RMI proposes a framework for 'climate intelligence' based on four pillars: emissions visibility, standardized accounting, digitized infrastructure using distributed ledger technology, and the scaling of these standards in markets. The document highlights the need to harmonize over 250 existing GHG accounting methodologies to create a 'digital schema' for carbon attribution. A key initiative mentioned is Horizon Zero, funded by a $10 million grant from the Larsen Lam Climate Change Foundation, which aims to apply digital disclosure models from the cryptocurrency industry to heavy industrial sectors like steel and cement. The author contends that digitization will make GHG and ESG disclosures as seamless as financial accounting, aligning with emerging regulatory trends in the EU and US.

This policy brief by RMI argues that federal incentives are necessary to help electric cooperatives (co-ops) retire aging coal plants and transition to renewable energy, which would drive significant economic development in rural US communities.

The document emphasizes that climate resilience in India's power sector is essential for sustainable development and economic growth. It recommends moving beyond disaster response toward adaptive planning and technical upgrades, such as energy storage and grid hardening, supported by innovative financing from financial institutions.

The document asserts that the transition to clean energy requires a synergistic approach combining utility-scale power, local electricity production (such as rooftop solar), and a modernized transmission system. It rejects the framing of these solutions as being in competition, noting that solar and wind are the least-cost power sources and that combining them enhances grid resilience during extreme weather. The author calls for federal infrastructure legislation and state-level planning to support both inter-regional transmission and local power generation.

RMI's study evaluates hourly carbon-free energy procurement strategies across seven global markets, finding that while hourly load-matching supports long-term grid decarbonization, strategies must be tailored to regional grid dynamics to maximize immediate emissions reductions.