Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 26, 2022

California’s Central Valley consistently experiences the country’s worst air quality, and climate change is poised to make air quality even worse. In a region known for its exceptional agricultural productivity, climate change is quickly amplifying a dangerous type of climate risk in California’s Central Valley: air pollution.

Climate Change 339

Climate Change Ozone Air Pollution Particle Pollution 339

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 23, 2024

Residential electricity rates for many Californians have increased significantly over the last year, making it more expensive to charge an electric vehicle (EV) at home. It’s still cheaper to recharge an EV than buy gasoline, but those savings have been eroded by surging electric rates. to $9.54.

Electricity 292

Electricity Fossil Fuels 2026 Climate Change 292

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 13, 2022

And yet, technological innovation is not what’s standing in the way of significant and necessary near-term climate progress. These pieces are critical to unleashing necessary change—regardless of the technologies at hand—yet are too often overlooked. Now we need to rapidly accelerate the clean energy momentum already underway.

Technology 263

Technology Technology Climate Change Fossil Fuels 263

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 12, 2022

Extreme heat and heatwaves are growing more frequent and more severe because of climate change. While climate change is making our days hotter, the fingerprints of climate change are even clearer for nighttime temperatures than for daytime temperatures.

Climate Change 307

Climate Change Cooling Radiation Electricity 307

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 28, 2022

Last week was a big one for clean energy in Michigan. First, Union of Concerned Scientists and the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition released a new report on how Michigan and other states can achieve 100-percent renewable energy standards that benefit all communities. No new gas plants. The Path Ahead.

Clean Energy 279

Clean Energy Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy 2030 279

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 16, 2024

Much of our electricity system is 50 to 70 years old, yet current plans for domestic manufacturing, electric vehicle fleets, community solar gardens and more clean energy all depend on a modern grid. New demands for electricity and the need to reduce climate-changing emissions are driving new grid planning efforts.

Electricity 287

Electricity Renewable Energy Clean Energy Law 287

Legal Planet

OCTOBER 30, 2024

Achieving climate goals requires significant investments in clean energy, transportation, and other climate technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and remove carbon from the atmosphere. What is Equitable Climate Infrastructure Investment?

Clean Energy 238

Clean Energy Technology Technology Government 238

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 6, 2025

Clean energy solutions are readily available to help ensure that these failures dont reoccur, and long-range transmission lines are one of the key components of these solutions. Increasing the countrys long-range transmission capacity will allow much more renewable and energy storage capacity to come onto the grid.

Fossil Fuels 286

Fossil Fuels Wind Power Electricity Solar Power 286

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 26, 2024

This June, I had the opportunity to testify at the Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee’s hearing on “Hydrogen Hubs and Climate Change.” My name is Julie McNamara, and I am a senior analyst and deputy policy director for climate and energy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Climate Change 266

Climate Change Fossil Fuels Carbon Dioxide Clean Energy 266

Enviromental Defense

DECEMBER 2, 2024

Statement by Alienor Rougeot, Senior Program Manager, Climate and Energy, on Ontario’s claims regarding the federal Clean Electricity Regulations. The federal government’s proposed regulations to reduce emissions in electricity generation are achievable without breaking the bank.

Electricity 129

Electricity Regulations Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels 129

Ocean Conservancy

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Climate change is propelling these weather events to grow faster and stronger than ever before. Other climate change impacts are accelerating as well. Many scientists thought these high ocean temperatures would be years away, but the realities of climate change are not a distant threat.

Fossil Fuels 133

Fossil Fuels Ocean Climate Change Clean Energy 133

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 3, 2022

is a serious blow to the EPA’s ability to fight climate change—and could have dangerous repercussions beyond this case. The timing of the decision feels especially harsh, as the nation is in the throes of the “ Danger Season ” for hazards such as heat waves, drought, wildfires and hurricanes, all worsened by climate change.

Climate Change 284

Climate Change Fossil Fuels Carbon Emissions Nitrogen Oxides 284

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 31, 2022

Rising prices of methane gas used for power and heating, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are contributing to soaring electric and heating bills across the country. And between 2010 and 2020 across all economic sectors, the share of US primary energy consumption from methane gas increased from 25 to 34 percent. .

Clean Energy 246

Clean Energy Fossil Fuels Electricity 2020 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 12, 2022

Nearly all of the alliance members have a renewable electricity standard (RES), which requires utilities in their jurisdiction to increase their use of renewable energy to a particular percentage by a specific year. We found that states have technically feasible and highly beneficial ways to achieve 100-percent renewable energy.

Electricity 279

Electricity Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Nitrogen Oxides 279

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

Since the beginning of 2022, electric vehicle sales in the United States have been downright electrifying. Last year, US drivers bought more than 800,000 new electric vehicles (EVs), 65 percent more than in 2021, even as overall car sales declined. Given the climate crisis, which seems to worsen every day, the sooner the better.

Electricity 337

Electricity Air Pollution 2030 Clean Air Act 337

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 25, 2022

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: Without power grid modeling tools, the transition to clean electricity would be an absolute mess. Luckily, we don’t have to resort to guesswork because we have sophisticated grid modeling tools that help guide the transition to clean electricity. Surely that would not end well.

Electricity 279

Electricity Clean Energy Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy 279

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 30, 2023

On January 26, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed House File 7 —the 100% Clean Energy Bill. Now it’s on to the state Senate, where the question is: Will this be the year Minnesota sets a path toward 100-percent carbon-free electricity?

Electricity 259

Electricity Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Clean Energy 259

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

The United States brought to COP27 in Egypt the historic Inflation Reduction Act , which Congress passed this summer, as evidence of our renewed participation with the rest of the world on climate action.?. Connecticut has an Office of Climate Planning. Rhode Island has the Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council.

Clean Energy 226

Clean Energy Climate Change Renewable Energy Government 226

Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 21, 2024

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included a major—forthcoming—refresh for one of the biggest policy drivers of the nation’s clean energy transition to date: tax credits subsidizing the deployment of clean electricity resources. What’s “clean,” and how is it measured?

Electricity 299

Electricity Clean Energy Greenhouse Technology 299

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 24, 2023

There’s good news in the recently released official data on electricity generation in the United States in 2022: renewable energy has continued to grow, coal power has continued to drop, and renewables are now firmly ahead of coal for the first time ever. They offer a lot of good news about clean energy progress.

Clean Energy 307

Clean Energy Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Solar Power 307

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

Extreme weather, which is increasing due to climate change , can degrade the electricity system and cause these failures. Power outages are costly, can have extreme impacts on both the health and safety of a population, and can happen at any point in the process of electricity generation, distribution, and usage.

Electricity 257

Electricity Renewable Energy Climate Change Sea Level 257

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Last year, Congress passed the most ambitious climate bill ever enacted, the Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions.

Carbon Emissions 331

Carbon Emissions Fossil Fuels Clean Energy 2030 331

Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 13, 2024

As electric vehicle charging stations sprout like mushrooms along our roads and clusters of new wind turbines come online, these two clean energy solutions to the climate crisis are becoming more commonplace. But beyond more electric cars and solar panels, what can everyday people do?

Fossil Fuels 264

Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Electricity Climate Change 264

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 26, 2024

For the rural communities living in or near national parks, electricity was a commodity. Something I really care about is to make sure the benefits of clean energy are reaching everyone in our society,” García said. Back home in Colombia, García’s family is witnessing the consequences of a fossil fuel-centered energy system.

Renewable Energy 318

Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Electricity 318

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

Bidirectional EVs Could Be the New Standard Electric vehicles (EVs) should be a clean transportation and a clean energy solution. This could let drivers use these batteries to power critical appliances during emergencies, their homes during power shutoffs, or even the grid when electricity demand is high.

Fossil Fuels 223

Fossil Fuels Recycling Clean Energy 2004 223

Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

And, as it turns out, the infrastructure used to produce, store, distribute, transmit, and burn gas leaks like a sieve , making gas as bad as coal for the climate. Gas, which now generates 40 percent of US electricity, is considered by some to be critical to maintain grid reliability. That discrimination is still evident today.

Clean Energy 351

Clean Energy Nitrogen Oxides Fossil Fuels Electricity 351

Law and Environment

JULY 1, 2022

The decision focuses on EPA’s authority under a specific section of the Clean Air Act. But a closer read suggests more sweeping, longer-term implications for incentivizing the development of clean energy projects nationwide. The Court ruled that EPA lacked the authority under the Clean Air Act to issue the Clean Power Plan.

Clean Energy 130

Clean Energy Climate Change Clean Air Act Greenhouse 130

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 19, 2022

Indeed, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just warned us of the decisive fate that this decade represents to act on climate for us and all the species that we depend on. States have technically feasible and highly beneficial paths to achieving 100 percent renewable energy. by 2035 is needed.

Renewable Energy 363

Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Nitrogen Oxides Clean Energy 363

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 22, 2022

Minnesotans are facing concurrent crises of climate change, high energy prices and inflation, and the inequitable public health impacts of fossil fuel air pollution. Renewable energy will help with all of that—but we need a grid that is designed for wind and solar instead of having to rely on expensive coal and gas plants.

Renewable Energy 362

Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels Solar Power Electricity 362

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 12, 2024

Fossil gas power plants currently provide the largest source of electricity generation and capacity in the United States. To meet our climate goals and reach net zero emissions by 2050, most studies show that we need to dramatically reduce gas use for generating electricity, heating homes and businesses, and running industrial processes.

Fossil Fuels 302

Fossil Fuels Electricity 2030 Clean Energy 302

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 28, 2022

6 is still driving up Ohioans’ electricity bills—and undermining the state’s prospects for a clean energy future. 6 went into effect, Ohio ratepayers have paid more than $182 million to subsidize two 67-year-old coal-fired power plants operated by the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC). Since H.B. But thanks to H.B.

Renewable Energy 349

Renewable Energy Nitrogen Oxides Electricity Clean Energy 349

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 16, 2022

The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) is one of the go-to sources for reliable information about the US power sector. They just released their 2022 “Annual Energy Outlook” (AEO), which is a big deal: it tells us where electricity is headed over the next 30 years. Carbon emissions remain high.

Natural Gas 291

Natural Gas Renewable Energy Climate Change Electricity 291

Legal Planet

APRIL 29, 2024

The bad news is that we’re not yet on track to avoid dangerous climate change. climate policy. Climate policy has been boosted by dramatic changes in the economics of clean energy. Cheaper renewable energy attracts private investment and makes limits on fossil fuels more feasible.

Fossil Fuels 279

Fossil Fuels 2008 2010 Clean Energy 279

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

With its passage out of a key committee in the House of Representatives last week, the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP) is a step closer to reality, as part of the powerful budget reconciliation bill (the Build Back Better Act). The bill, and that provision, still have a ways to go to get through Congress, […].

Clean Energy 213

Clean Energy Electricity Climate Change 213

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 3, 2023

Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included a clean hydrogen production tax credit (known as “45V”) that is one of a slew of new incentives intended to help catalyze the next and necessary phase of advancing the nation’s clean energy transition as a whole. The costs will be too great otherwise.

Clean Energy 262

Clean Energy Fossil Fuels Electricity Renewable Energy 262

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 30, 2022

Wider repercussions, including the inequitable impacts of rising food and energy prices and the potential for a food crisis hitting vulnerable populations around the world, must also be urgently addressed by global leaders. Multiple crises colliding with climate change.

Fossil Fuels 280

Fossil Fuels Climate Change Clean Energy 2030 280

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 16, 2022

When thinking about global emissions, don’t picture an individual—point your finger at powerful corporations, specifically the 88 companies that are largely responsible for climate change. The best solution: Replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. The same solutions will fix the energy crisis and the climate crisis.

Fossil Fuels 322

Fossil Fuels Paris Agreement Renewable Energy Carbon Dioxide 322