Energy Efficiency

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Building Decarbonization Policy Brief

Financing a Climate-Safe Future: Low- and Moderate-Income Residential Building Decarbonization

Decarbonizing existing residential buildings is critical to meeting California’s climate goals. Buildings in California are responsible for almost 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, or 25 percent of the state’s climate pollution. Recent research shows that, to keep pace with the latest climate science and stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius of … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Energy Efficiency Fossil Fuels
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Call on the legislature to maintain state funding for equitable building decarbonization

The 2022-23 state budget cycle committed nearly $1 billion to retrofit existing buildings in low-income communities and provide consumer rebates for building upgrades. This program is essential for addressing inequities and disproportionate pollution impacts for lower-income communities and communities of color, all while ensuring robust tenant protection, anti-displacement, and workforce standards. But Governor Newsom is … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Climate Justice Energy Efficiency

Webinar: Energy Efficiency and Community Choice Energy – Opportunities for Fresno

This webinar, co-hosted by Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (Fresno EOC) and The Climate Center, about local weatherization and energy efficiency efforts and Community Choice Energy, the not-for-profit local electricity service option for over 11 million Californians. Fresno is in the process of evaluating this program for its residents and businesses. Founded in 1965, Fresno EOC … Read more

Webinar: Investing in Building Electrification for a Climate-Safe Future

This webinar is the sixth in The Climate Center’s Investing in Climate Action for Jobs, Health, and Equity webinar series. Today, roughly 25 percent of California’s greenhouse gas emissions come from commercial and residential buildings. Even as cities begin to transition to all-electric buildings — and some cities are going further by banning natural gas in … Read more

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California blackouts: Dude, where’s my Resource Adequacy?

The three main California energy agencies said it loud & clear in a letter to the Governor and the Legislature dated August 19: “…our organizations want to be clear about one factor that did not cause the rotating outage: California’s commitment to clean energy. Renewable energy did not cause the rotating outages.” That’s right, California’s … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Energy Efficiency
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Massachusetts pilot project offers gas utilities a possible path to survival

by Justin Gerdes, Greentech Media Highlights Realizing that Massachusetts will not meet its emissions reduction targets if the state continues to use natural gas, the Department of Public Utilities is investigating the future of natural gas companies at the request of State Attorney General Maura Healey Electrification of buildings, energy efficiency, and geothermal network applications … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Energy Efficiency Fossil Fuels
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New York is spending $1 billion to help residents conserve energy — and lower their bills

by Angely Mercado, Grist  Highlights As people shelter-in-place due to the ongoing pandemic, utility bills are rising as the summer heat intensifies  The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the state’s investor-owned utilities are working to provide clean and energy-efficient solutions to more than 350,000 low-to-moderate income households  These services would include … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Energy Efficiency Public Health
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Building decarbonization cuts pollution and boosts the economy. Here’s how state regulators can accelerate both.

Rooftop PV installation on the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe administration building

by Silvio Marcacci, Forbes Highlights Existing buildings and their components are difficult to replace and therefore are difficult to decarbonize Residential and commercial buildings in the United States account for 1 billion metric tons of emissions annually Electrification now reduces greenhouse gas emissions in 46 out of 48 states It is cost-effective to build out all-electric … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Energy Efficiency
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‘We essentially cook ourselves’ if we don’t fix air conditioning, major UN report warns

by Dharna Noor, Gizmodo Highlights A new report from the United Nations shows that 460 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions could be avoided worldwide by switching to energy-efficient, climate-safe air conditioning There are 3.6 billion cooling appliances, including refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioning units in use around the globe Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), chemicals that were … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Energy Efficiency Public Health
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The plan meant to unite Biden and Bernie voters on climate is here

by Emily Pontecorvo, Grist Highlights After Senator Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination, he joined forces with Former Vice President Joe Biden to create a climate task force Other members of the task force included Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash, and Catherine Flowers, the founder of the … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Climate Justice Energy Efficiency Fossil Fuels