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Your weekly intelligence on Decarbonization Policy and Impacts
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Not content with a single Earth Day, the White House stretched its celebration of environmental and clean energy policies and programs to a full week, with NetZero Insider reporters covering new announcements almost daily. 


Our K Kaufmann had a super busy week, beginning on Monday with President Joe Biden’s announcement of $7 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act for 60 programs that will bring clean solar power to low-income homeowners and communities across the country. 


K also covered two big announcements from EPA: first, a competitive funding opportunity for close to $1 billion to help replace diesel- and gas-guzzling heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission battery or fuel cell vehicles; and the agency’s long-awaited final rule on cutting carbon dioxide emissions at existing coal plants and new natural gas plants.  


Meanwhile, offshore wind reporter John Cropley was in New Orleans for the Oceantic Network’s International Partnering Forum, where Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced a five-year schedule for up to a dozen offshore wind lease auctions and an update of its regulations for renewable energy development in U.S. waters. 


And NetZero’s Ayla Burnett laid out the different arguments and perspectives now being raised as California regulators and policymakers grapple with how to calculate the public health, social and other “nonenergy benefits” of the state’s  push to produce 100% of its electricity from carbon-free generation by 2045. 


In our curated content, the attorneys general of 23 states have petitioned EPA to back off its use of “disparate impacts” when regulating pollution, according to a report on Floodlight. 


Inside Climate News has two reports on the push-pull going on at the state level over the $4.6 billion in Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) that EPA is expected to award later this year. First, Virginia could score anywhere from $2 million to $500 million for programs that could provide state subsidies for zero-emission vehicles and fund renewable energy projects for homes and businesses, but the local gas industry is pushing back on such measures.  


Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) has already told EPA that the state will not be applying for CPRG funds, but two tribes and the state capital, Cheyenne, are eligible to apply on their own and are submitting applications to use the federal dollars for microgrids for remote tribal areas and to put solar panels on city-owned grazing land. 


All that and more in this week’s Intelligence Report:


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Finance & Investing
Impact & Adaptation
Policy & Politics

 
 

Finance & Investing

International

Eversource advances on sale of Sunrise Wind stake to ?rsted

Utility company Eversource Energy said it had finalized definitive agreements to sell its 50% stake in the 924-MW Sunrise Wind offshore wind project off the East Coast to Denmark's ?rsted A/S. Renewables Now


International

The Missing $1 Trillion

For two years, world leaders, economists and activists have called for sweeping overhauls to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund that would make the two lending institutions more adept at combating climate change. Experts estimate that at least $1 trillion a year is needed to help developing countries adapt to hotter temperatures and rising seas, build out clean energy projects and cope with climate disasters. The New York Times


U.S.

Supreme Court: Companies can't be sued for not disclosing climate risk

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled shareholders cannot sue companies for securities fraud when they fail to disclose information about future risks, unless the omission made their statements deliberately misleading. The decision benefits companies by allowing them more leeway to pick and choose what they disclose to investors. GreenBiz


U.S.

Venture capital interest in solar plummets amid uncertain financial markets: Mercom Capital

Venture capitalists invested just $406 million in solar companies during the first quarter of 2024, compared to $2.1 billion raised in early 2023, according to Mercom Capital Group, a research and consulting firm serving the clean energy industry. Total corporate funding raised by solar companies fell 4% year-over-year to $8.1 billion in the first quarter. Utility Dive


Virginia

Virginia Seeks Millions of Dollars in Federal Funds Aimed at Reducing Pollution and Electrifying Transportation and Buildings

Community planners in Virginia say $4.6 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funds could be used to switch to electric vehicles, power homes with renewable energy and invest in public transit. Fossil fuel companies worry that the state is abandoning its "all of the above" energy strategy. Inside Climate News


Wyoming

In Wyoming, a Tribe and a City Pursue Clean Energy Funds Spurned by the Governor

The Northern Arapaho Tribe and City of Cheyenne are seeking money for solar panels, emissions cuts and expenses reductions. Grant managers say any amount would create jobs and diversify the energy portfolio. Inside Climate News


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Impact & Adaptation

International

Carbon Dioxide Levels Have Passed a New Milestone

According to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Monitoring Laboratory this month, last year had the fourth-highest annual rise in global carbon dioxide levels. The New York Times


International

Three Places Changing Quickly to Fight Climate Change

Paris is becoming a city of bikes. Across China, people are snapping up $5,000 electric cars. On Earth Day, a look at a few bright spots for emission reductions. The New York Times


International

As the climate changes, cities scramble to find trees that will survive

Urban arborists say planting for the future is urgently needed and could prevent a decline in leafy cover just when the world needs it most. Trees play a crucial role in keeping cities cool. A study published in 2022 found that a roughly 30% increase in the metropolitan canopy could prevent nearly 40% of heat-related deaths in Europe. Grist


U.S.

Heat-Related ER Visits Rose in 2023, CDC Study Finds

The rate of emergency room visits caused by heat illness increased significantly last year in large swaths of the country compared with the previous five years, according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The New York Times


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Policy & Politics

Georgia

How should Georgia elect key utility regulators? US Supreme Court asked to weigh in

In a case that could impact other lawsuits on voting rights, Black voters who sued over Georgia's elections for key utility regulators are appealing their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Grist


Michigan

Whitmer expands MI Clean Water Plan, while enviros call for more clean energy investments

While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer anticipates continued investments into water infrastructure needs through the fiscal 2025 state budget, various environmental and clean organizations shared their hopes for additional funding in clean energy, home weatherization, electric vehicles and public transit. Michigan Advance


New Jersey

8 Shore towns have no standing to bring lawsuit against Atlantic Shores offshore wind project, judge rules

A lawsuit to stop the Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm project was tossed out of court recently because the towns have no standing to bring the lawsuit, a Mercer County Superior Court Judge has decided. Downbeach


U.S.

23 states ask EPA to halt civil rights rules regulating pollution

The dispute stems from a ruling by a Louisiana judge that the agency's application of race-based considerations exceeds its authority. Floodlight


U.S.

Lawmakers hope to use this emerging climate science to charge oil companies for disasters

A fast-emerging field of climate research is helping scientists pinpoint just how many dollars from a natural disaster can be tied to the historic emissions of individual oil companies -- analysis that is the centerpiece of new state efforts to make fossil fuel companies pay billions for floods, wildfires and heat waves. Louisiana Illuminator


U.S.

The American Climate Corps is now hiring

You can now apply to be one of the first members of the American Climate Corps. President Joe Biden declared that the program was open for applications recently with 273 jobs currently listed on the White House's website, including coastal conservation in Florida, stream restoration in Montana, and forest management in the Sierra Nevada. Grist


U.S.

After a long slog, climate change lawsuits will finally put Big Oil on trial

After years of legal appeals and delays, some oil companies are set to stand trial in lawsuits brought by state and local governments -- including in Minnesota -- over the damages caused by climate change. Minnesota Reformer


U.S.

Republican attorneys general mount a new attack on the EPA's use of civil rights law

Twenty-three states want the Biden administration's EPA to curtail its approach to environmental justice. Grist


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