Planning for Refinery Closures That Benefit Workers, Communities, and the Environment

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California is a major petroleum refining state. However, two refineries — Phillps 66 in Wilmington and Valero in Benicia — have announced plans to close at the end of 2025 and early 2026, respectively. Together, these refineries produce about 17 percent of the state’s gasoline supply. If both refineries close as planned, the state could … Read more

The Affordability and Public Health Benefits of Bidirectional Electric School Buses

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Electric school bus charging.

Californians are facing soaring electricity bills and some of the most polluted air in the country. A massive rollout of bidirectional electric school buses across the state can help tackle both problems. Bidirectional electric vehicles, including school buses, can store energy in their batteries and feed it back to the grid when it’s needed most. … Read more

How Electric School Buses Can Help Californians Save Money, Cut Pollution, and Keep the Lights On

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Right now, nine out of ten school buses across the country run on fossil fuels. California, however, leads the nation in electric school bus adoption, with more than 3,100 electric buses in the state. Every electric school bus provides an opportunity to cut air and climate pollution and save money in California communities. Electric school … Read more

Carbon Dioxide Removal Policy Levers to Ensure Climate and Community Benefits

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As the sixth and final installment in our Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) webinar series, this webinar focused on policy levers that can help incentivize responsible CDR deployment to meet California’s net-zero goals. We examined how to secure high-quality CDR projects while safeguarding communities and the environment. Experts discussed important considerations for policymakers to ensure accountability … Read more

Creating Accountability for Carbon Removal Through Responsible Measurement

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Accurately measuring carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is crucial to responsibly reaching net-negative emissions. Even though there are currently no standardized ways of calculating carbon dioxide removals, governments and private companies have been making voluntary purchases of CDR project credits and using a range of methods for measuring them.  As the call for CDR grows louder … Read more

Reforming California’s Cap and Trade Program

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California’s Cap and Trade program, historically a cornerstone of the state’s efforts to reduce climate pollution, is likely to see significant reforms as part of a reauthorization process in 2025. The program is currently authorized to run through 2030, but the long process of reviewing it has begun. While oil companies are pushing to extend … Read more

Carbon Dioxide Removal and Communities: Benefits, Negotiations, Oversight, and Enforcement

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State legislators and regulators must find ways to adequately protect communities from Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) project impacts and ensure that communities derive direct benefits from local projects. While the Biden administration often imposed strong local engagement and community benefits requirements on federally-funded clean energy projects, we can’t count on the new administration to enforce … Read more

Envisioning the Grid for the Future

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Imagine a future in which every suitable rooftop in California is covered with solar panels. The panels provide power to a resilient network of microgrids and stationary and EV batteries to provide reliable power for millions of Californians every day and night. All electric vehicles can export energy from their batteries to power homes and … Read more

Carbon Dioxide Removal and Communities: Learning From the Past, Planning for the Future

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In this third webinar of a six-part series, we heard from experts about the health and safety concerns with Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Panelists covered the landscape of national and California-specific issues, impacts to air quality, and risks associated with transportation and storage. This webinar will be followed by a subsequent webinar focused on community … Read more