Search Climate Insights Directory

The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Transportation and Mobility is a guide by RMI that outlines twelve strategic actions for cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, which accounts for 36 percent of emissions in large cities. The guide provides descriptions of these actions—ranging from fleet electrification and combustion vehicle reduction to the implementation of car-free zones and expanded public transit—and supports them with a curated list of action documents, recommended resources, and citations from various global cities.

The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Financing emphasizes the role of cities in expanding capital access and innovative financing mechanisms for both public sector city-led projects and private sector initiatives.

This case study describes how the Organic Valley agricultural cooperative partnered with OneEnergy Renewables and the Upper Midwest Municipal Energy Group (UMMEG) to source 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2019. By utilizing a community solar model in the U.S. Midwest, the partnership developed 12 MW of solar for Organic Valley and an additional 17 MW for local communities, totaling approximately 29 MW of new installations.

The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Buildings provides a set of five strategic actions for cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment, which accounts for nearly 50 percent of all GHG emissions in large cities.

This RMI insight brief presents the 'Sunshine for Mines' program, which provides a methodology for transforming legacy or inactive mine sites from financial liabilities into revenue-generating assets through the development of renewable energy and storage solutions.

The Carbon-Free City Handbook, published by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) in November 2017, provides a guide for city governments to implement 22 "no-regrets" actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The handbook focuses on five key sectors: buildings, transportation and mobility, electricity, industry, and biological resources, offering a framework for cities to transition toward 100% renewable energy and carbon-free operations through immediate, actionable, and economically viable policies.

This guide provides strategic advice for employees seeking to implement sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives within corporations that are initially resistant or indifferent to such goals.

RMI implemented a parking cash-out program at its Boulder, Colorado office, allowing employees to choose cash instead of a parking spot. In a three-month pilot, 64% of employees opted for alternative commutes, leading to a weekly reduction of 415 kg of carbon emissions and 950 single-occupancy vehicle miles. The program leverages a green-lease structure that decouples parking costs from rent, demonstrating a scalable model for reducing urban commuting emissions.

This briefing by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) advocates for the adoption of energy efficiency ratings for homes in the U.S., similar to MPG ratings for vehicles, to provide transparency regarding energy costs, environmental impact, and home comfort.

This insight brief by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues that Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (R-PACE) financing can accelerate the adoption of net-zero energy (NZE) new construction in the United States. By attaching financing to the property rather than the owner, R-PACE addresses key market barriers such as high up-front capital costs and the split incentive between builders and homebuyers.

This briefing by RMI argues that health professionals should recognize the link between indoor air quality (IAQ) and specific home energy upgrades to improve patient health outcomes and drive demand for carbon-reducing home investments.

The report examines the role of connected and isolated microgrids in the global energy transition. It highlights how falling costs of renewable energy enable these systems to replace diesel-based generation, particularly in island nations like Saint Lucia. While facing challenges in grid stability and the balance of energy sources, microgrids offer a pathway to increased energy independence and reduced emissions.

This briefing by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues that the mining industry represents a significant, untapped opportunity for gigaton-scale carbon emissions reductions. It highlights that while mining is inherently energy-intensive, the transition to renewable energy is now economically viable due to falling costs of solar PV and wind, which can replace expensive diesel generation at remote sites and reduce reliance on fossil-fuel-dominated grids.

This report explores innovative funding mechanisms for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at U.S. airports, using Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) as a primary case study. It argues that while airports cannot legally fund fuel as a commodity, they can fund 'co-benefits' such as carbon reduction and air quality improvements. The report recommends several funding streams, including corporate support and non-aeronautical revenue, to catalyze regional SAF supply chains and reduce the industry's carbon footprint.

This case study describes a milestone renewable energy deal where Goldman Sachs became the first U.S. bank to sign a large-scale, off-site renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) to enable the development of a 68 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Pennsylvania.

This case study describes the Efficiency Works-Neighborhood Pilot in Fort Collins, Colorado, a program designed by Fort Collins Utilities with support from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to increase residential adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy. The program shifted from an 'à la carte' service model to a streamlined, bundled approach that removed financial and procedural barriers, resulting in a tripling of customer participation and a 60 percent increase in carbon savings. Due to its success and transferability, the program received the Energy Innovator Award from the American Public Power Association (APPA).

A statement from RMI expressing disappointment over President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, while asserting that subnational actions and the global energy transition will continue.

This briefing explores how blockchain technology can enhance the cybersecurity of the electrical grid, particularly as the proliferation of Internet-connected devices increases vulnerabilities. It details the inherent security features of blockchains, their application in mitigating IoT and data communication risks, and the emerging challenge of cryptographic key mismanagement.

The report 'Door-to-Downtown' details a public-private partnership pilot program in Boulder, Colorado, designed to test the viability of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) as an alternative to personal vehicle use for accessing the city center. By subsidizing rideshare trips to be cost-competitive with driving and parking, the city aimed to reduce parking demand and test the potential for a future transition to electric, autonomous vehicles (EAVs).

This briefing by RMI analyzes China's 'energy quota' for buildings—the Standard for Energy Consumption of Civil Buildings (GB/T51161-2016)—and identifies three primary lessons for U.S. cities and companies: the importance of meter-based peer assessment, the challenges of aligning operational targets with design codes, and the benefits of localizing performance targets to account for regional market dynamics.