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Legislative Session Results 2015/16

Overview During the 2015/16 two-year California legislative session, which came to a close on August 31st, The Climate Center engaged on several important bills with climate and energy implications. Below is a run-down of some of them, and how they fared in the legislature. Note that at the time of this update, several of the … Read more

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Ygrene: A Homegrown Energy Solution with Nationwide Impact

(First printed in the North Bay Business Journal – July 25, 2016) According to Stacey Lawson, CEO of Ygrene Energy Fund, the property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing program is poised for takeoff, and Ygrene is positioned to serve a large part of that market. The YgreneWorks PACE program allows residents to finance energy efficiency … Read more

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Two financial institutions find ways to be sustainable and successful

(Published July 11, 2016 in the North Bay Business Journal) Any financial institution that claims to protect its clients’ or members’ hard-earned investments needs to emulate the innovative sustainability programs of  Redwood Credit Union and Beneficial State Bank.The connection may not seem obvious but the reason is as simple as cause and effect.  Climate change … Read more

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Event Recap: Sustainable and Responsible Investing

by Barry Vesser and Kristin Berger Doing Well and Doing Good: Sustainable Investment From 2012 to 2014, sustainable and impact investing assets enjoyed a growth rate of more than 76%, increasing from $3.74 trillion in 2012 to over $6 trillion in 2014.  It is now possible to invest our money for our children’s education and our retirement … Read more

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Community Choice Energy: A California transformation in one decade

by Ann Hancock, The Climate Center  |  March 10, 2016 In October 2014, at our first Business of Local Energy Symposium, only two operational Community Choice programs existed in California: Marin Clean Energy and Sonoma Clean Power. A mere sixteen months later, Community Choice is taking off across the state. We reported this story in … Read more

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2016 Business of Local Energy Symposium | March 4, 2016

Creating the Clean Energy Economy: Optimizing Community Choice The Climate Center is organizing its second all-day Business of Local Energy Symposium to accelerate California’s shift to a clean energy economy, driven by local government and business. The Symposium provides a forum to exchange ideas about Community Choice Energy programs and to learn about current energy policy, regulations, … Read more

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The Forks in the Road after the Paris Agreement

by Mike Sandler Without a doubt, the Paris Agreement is historic. It provides some much-needed relief to the UN process and the leaders of the world who suffered a major setback after the UN’s Copenhagen breakdown in 2009. It lets a term-limited President of the United States claim to have set laudably ambitious goals, and … Read more

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Peninsula Clean Energy is Born!

By Woody Hastings The race is on between San Francisco’s CleanPowerSF and Peninsula Clean Energy: Which will be first to launch an electricity program for their residents and businesses? San Francisco has a head start because they have been working on their effort for many years, and they are on schedule to launch early in … Read more

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Community Choice Takes Shape in Silicon Valley

By Barry Vesser, CCP  |  Nov. 12, 2015 [ San Jose City Councilmember Ash Kalra talks about his interest in Community Choice] Momentum is building for Community Choice Energy (CCE) in Silicon Valley. San Mateo aims to form a Joint Powers Authority (JPA), the legal framework for a multi-municipality Community Choice program, in February 2016, … Read more