Climate change solutions
We deliver game-changing environmental solutions that have a real impact for people around the globe.
Coauthored by Zachary Decker
The Trump Administration has a record of disregard for programs that support human life, safety, and public health. Now, it is targeting a research center that everything from our military to the insurance industry to our electricity providers rely on to keep us safe and informed.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research, a federally-funded nerve center in Boulder, Colorado, is a textbook example of government serving the public interest. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought has indicated the Trump administration’s intention to “break up” NCAR, calling it one of the main centers of “climate alarmism.” But environmental security without NCAR would be like trying to run a marathon blindfolded, without coordinating our feet.
The Trump Administration thinks it’s in the national interest to cut NCAR’s programs and scope and that its value to all Americans can be preserved if it’s broken up and scattered. This is why they’re wrong.
In 2024 alone, the United States suffered 27 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters causing ~$182.7B in damage and at least 568 deaths; and since 1980, cumulative losses exceed $2.9T. Silencing the science doesn’t turn down the risk; it just blinds the people who must manage it.
These risks are highly interconnected, which is why NCAR is so valuable. NCAR is much more than a single laboratory: it is the backbone of U.S. environmental intelligence, an integrated hub of supercomputers, aircraft and open community models, where a research-to-forecast pathway converts science into action.
With an annual budget of $125 million, NCAR contributes to the science infrastructure that generates over $31B in benefits each year, while costing less than 0.1% of the U.S. weather and climate disaster losses in 2024. Included in its mandate:
When Americans check the weather, evacuate from wildfire smoke, harden military infrastructure, or watch a hurricane’s cone of uncertainty, they are leaning on NCAR’s work. NCAR serves actuaries and reinsurers, the aviation industry, emergency managers, utilities and power grid planners, as well as thousands of scientists in diverse fields. As damages from extreme weather like floods, hurricanes and wildfires increase year after year, it’s clear that threats from climate change will continue to threaten lives and livelihoods.
Now to consider the second assumption — that NCAR could be dismantled, with “vital functions,” like weather prediction, simply reassigned elsewhere.
NCAR’s unique value is the exact opposite of modularity: its real strength is not any single instrument or program but the way it fuses them into a unified Earth system engine. Its community of modelers, field scientists, aircraft engineers, pilots, and supercomputing experts work collaboratively—with hundreds, if not thousands of external researchers and businesses — to turn raw data into lifesaving forecasts. Access to NCAR’s “community models” and data is free and accessible to all, and used by scientists, experts, public agencies, and the private sector to improve, enhance, or utilize to protect American lives.
Even across programs, NCAR’s systems are interconnected. The same framework that helps us understand hurricane intensity and coastal flooding also supports better simulation of atmospheric rivers and their rainfall, which is critical for water supply planning for over 50 million people in the American West. That framework also powers the model used to assess marine heatwaves, fisheries stressors and coastal resilience worldwide. At the same time, NCAR’s model used for severe storms, wildfire behavior, and smoke transport is tightly connected to its chemistry and air quality research; and its space weather models depend on coordinated observations and high-end computing. All these capabilities are sustained by shared aircraft, the NCAR Wyoming Supercomputing Center and expert teams working together.
This produces an integrated architecture that underpins flood and air quality alerts, informs insurance and reinsurance risk modeling, supports national security planning, and trains the workforce for federal government agencies, tribes, states, and private firms. Fragmenting NCAR would fracture those connections and deliver less.
NCAR can and should keep evolving — to modernize, streamline and maximize its ability to adapt to a world of changing risks. But any good faith modernization should start from a recognition of its value and what makes it work. We should embrace and double down on NCAR’s mission of science in service to society, seeking to understand hazards and enabling tools to save lives and prevent costly losses. We should recognize the importance of integration, affirming NCAR’s unified mission and invest in what makes it uniquely valuable.
Today’s existing weather and future climate trajectory will expose Americans to severe risks. Dismantling NCAR will leave many sectors flying blind. NCAR is an essential part of our intelligence and ability to prepare and respond. It is also the product of decades of investment by scientists, state and local governments, the private sector, universities, and U.S. taxpayers. At its heart, it’s our center. Dismantling it would be a generational mistake.
Results were released today for the first auction of the year, and 13th overall, in Washington’s Cap-and-Invest program. With prices down over $5 from Washington’s last auction, today’s results may be a reflection of covered entities’ growing confidence in a future linked market, following on the release last week of a draft linkage agreement between Washington, Québec and California.
The auction showed a continuation of the strong demand seen in all of Washington’s auctions thus far, and is projected to generate $183 million in revenue for investments in communities, affordability and climate resilience in Washington State.
Washington’s Cap-and-Invest auctions are administered quarterly by the Department of Ecology (Ecology). During the auction, participating entities submitted their bids for allowances. Under the Climate Commitment Act — Washington’s landmark climate law that sets a binding, declining limit on pollution — major emitters in Washington are required to hold one allowance for every ton of greenhouse gas they emit, with the total number of allowances decreasing each year. This system requires Washington’s polluters to reduce their emissions in line with the state’s climate targets, as fewer allowances become available annually.
Today’s results come just over a week after the release of a draft linkage agreement between California, Washington and Québec. The decline in auction prices seen in today’s results may be a reflection of improved confidence among covered entities that, upon finalization of linkage processes in each jurisdiction, they will have access to a larger pool of allowances from a future joint market with California and Québec.
California and Québec have shared a linked market for over a decade, demonstrating that well-designed linked cap-and-invest programs can lead to deeper pollution cuts while supporting economic growth. Adding Washington to this established partnership would build on a proven model and strengthen the programs of all participants. Merging into a larger market would likely lead to more stable, predictable allowance prices, which is crucial for polluters to make decisions about compliance planning and investing in decarbonization.
Washington has been making steady progress towards their linkage rulemaking, which they’re expecting to finalize in mid-2026. California has been working to update their own program rules, including updating their emissions allowance budgets, and is expected to take up its own linkage process this year as well. Linkage is a key opportunity for climate leadership for both states, to take a step that will strengthen one of our best and most cost-effective tools to reduce emissions and raise revenue for community investments.
With a draft agreement now published, Washington, California and Québec are taking a significant step towards market linkage and stronger programs that can drive long-term emissions reductions with greater certainty. Washington’s Department of Ecology is taking public feedback on the draft through May 1, and the linked market could launch as early as 2027. The need for scalable, durable climate action at the state level has never been greater, and these jurisdictions are showing how working across borders can drive meaningful progress.
With Governor Abigail Spanberger’s signature on a budget agreement that directs the Commonwealth to immediately rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), Virginia is back on track with the climate policy the state needs. This budget agreement — which legislators call the “caboose” budget — doesn’t just cut pollution, it supports communities as they adapt to increased flood risk and creates a dedicated pathway to increase energy affordability for those who need it most.
A huge dose of gratitude goes out to the General Assembly and the Governor for recognizing that a cleaner grid and affordable bills go hand-in-hand. By re-entering this proven, multi-state program, Virginia is securing a healthier, more resilient and more affordable future.
Virginia’s journey with RGGI has been eventful. The General Assembly originally passed a law in 2020 requiring participation, and the Commonwealth successfully participated from 2021 to 2023. Unfortunately, the Youngkin administration unlawfully withdrew the state from the program in 2024. While a court ruled his unilateral repeal “unlawful and without effect” in November 2024, an ongoing appeal kept Virginia on the sidelines.
With Governor Spanberger’s signature, that uncertainty is over. Virginia is back in the game.
RGGI is a practical, market-based solution to climate pollution. Power plant owners are required to purchase an allowance for every ton of carbon dioxide their plant emits. Over time, the supply of these allowances decreases, which steadily drives down emissions across participating states. Beyond delivering cleaner air, RGGI actively reduces utility reliance on dirtier, more expensive fossil fuels. This transition leads to steadier, more predictable energy bills, greater energy independence and enhanced grid security.
When power plants purchase carbon allowances, the revenue generated flows directly back into participating states.
Here is how RGGI revenue is put to work in Virginia:
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has now been instructed to begin the necessary steps to rejoin RGGI immediately, a process that should conclude by the end of May. Rejoining RGGI is a victory for every Virginian who wants cleaner air, lower utility bills and neighborhoods that are protected from the impacts of climate change. Thank you, Governor Spanberger, Delegates and Senators, for prioritizing Virginians and climate over polluters.
It’s becoming all too common for families and businesses to experience the symptoms of a strained electricity grid—whether it’s rising bills or more frequent power outages. Between growing demand, aging infrastructure and extreme weather, the U.S. grid is under immense pressure. For Western states, the challenge is especially pronounced: during peak hours of electricity demand, up to 70% of states’ power is imported from neighboring states’ utilities. Decision makers across the region are looking for guidance as they plan for the next generation of the grid.
Transmission lines deliver electricity from where it’s generated to homes, businesses and schools. Building and improving the transmission system is the key to ensuring the lights stay on and utility bills remain affordable. Since new transmission lines can take several years to come online, utilizing existing grid infrastructure more effectively can lead to solutions in the near term. Utilities in Western states typically use , which means there is significant capacity for serving new load and integrating new generation quickly and affordably. To ease costs and keep the grid reliable, we need to build new transmission lines and make the most of existing infrastructure.
A coalition of utilities, developers, states and Tribes recently published a roadmap for planning a more reliable and affordable grid throughout the West. The Western Transmission Expansion Coalition (WestTEC)’s 10-Year Horizon report offers important insights for decision makers, providing clear guidance for states and transmission developers navigating landscape marked by rapidly growing demand and shifting priorities. This coalition’s findings should spur action to ensure continued access to affordable and readily available electricity. Otherwise, families and businesses will foot the bill for an ever-growing demand for electricity.
There are four primary reasons why proactive planning is so necessary to maintaining a reliable, affordable electrical grid:
Importantly, as demand shifts and generation capacity grows, the infrastructure for getting power where it needs to go—transmission—isn’t keeping pace.
Taken together, these pose major challenges for state decision makers and make clear the need for coordination across states for transmission planning.
WestTEC was launched in 2023 to address this need for long-range transmission planning. Facilitated by the Western Power Pool—a group of electric utilities in the Western United States and Canada that share resources—the coalition is charged with supporting the Western Interconnection, the power grid that spans much of the Western U.S. and parts of Canada and Mexico.
WestTEC’s new report is a key component of the effort to increase transparency and coordination in transmission planning. It details the reasons for proactive planning and dives deeper into the transformative forces reshaping the grid. It also identifies projects that will help the West meet demand growth, seamlessly integrate new generation, and increase reliability. The report identifies 12,650 total line miles of upgrades needed to meet the region’s forecasted needs. Around 9,400 miles worth of projects are already planned, with close to one fifth of these under or nearing construction. That leaves around 3,300 line miles of identified upgrades that still need to be developed to address reliability, deliverability, and efficiency goals across the region.
Building this technology comes with a price tag—roughly $5.3 billion per year. Though that number seems steep, it’s actually just a fraction of the total spending on Western electricity, which was nearly $120 billion in 2024. In fact, it’s only about 2.5% of today’s average retail electricity price. Importantly, transmission has front-loaded costs that are repaid over time. A recent report from Americans for a Clean Energy Grid estimates that, for every $1 invested in transmission, customers see up to $4.70 in benefits. In other words, these transmission upgrades have the potential to translate into massive future savings for families and businesses without breaking the bank today.
Stronger transmission networks can ensure states reap the full benefits of forthcoming Western electricity markets. A more interconnected grid helps utilities manage stressors like extreme heat. When local conditions tighten and electricity is constrained, states can share resources to ensure reliable electric service. A more coordinated and connected transmission grid also produces significant economic benefits. The Western Energy Imbalance Market allows participants to buy and sell power in real-time. Since 2014, the market has resulted in over $7.4 billion in total market benefits. Coordinated transmission planning and development create the conditions for a mature, fully regional electricity market that benefits every participating state.
The forces pressuring the grid will only grow more complex, but the collaborative solutions offered by WestTEC give decision makers the knowledge and tools to tackle the challenge. The coalition is also producing a 20-Year Horizon Report that looks at planning scenarios into 2045, which will address uncertainty, help understand how transmission needs change over time and allow for evaluation and right-sizing of the 10-year horizon upgrades. The 20-year report will also forecast the benefits of key transmission portfolios, which can help decision-makers better argue for and defend the recommended upgrades.
As developers and states start taking steps to implement WestTEC’s recommendations, engaging communities from the beginning of the process can ensure better outcomes for all. A recent EDF report found that early engagement with communities and Tribes helped reduce opposition to transmission projects, avoid costly delays and deliver lasting value for both developers and communities. A more resilient, interconnected grid is a more reliable, affordable grid—and one that offers clear benefits for the West.
Developers and states should rely on the guidance offered by the WestTEC report to start pursuing recommended upgrades, communicate costs and benefits to customers and engage in a collaborative development process that involves communities at each stage.
California surpassed 2.5 million zero-emission vehicles years ahead of schedule. Nearly $12 billion in private-sector electric vehicle investments have been announced. EVs can now power homes during outages. Fleets can slash fuel costs by more than 60%. Many communities near ports breathe cleaner air. These aren’t projections – they’re results already delivering across California.
State leadership and targeted investments made this progress possible. As lawmakers finalize the budget amid federal attacks on California’s clean vehicle authority, the state’s clean transportation budget stands out as one of the most powerful tools to protect public health, lower costs, expand consumer choice and sustain economic momentum.
Environmental Defense Fund applauds the Governor’s proposed $200 million light-duty vehicle incentive and urges the Legislature to commit at least $1.5 billion to fund the full spectrum of clean vehicles and infrastructure (see our fact sheet for more recommendations).
After housing, a car is the second-largest household expense, and purchase prices remain a real barrier for families who want to choose cleaner vehicles. Incentive programs like Gov. Newsom’s proposed new light-duty incentive and Clean Cars 4 All help remove that barrier – especially for low- and moderate-income households replacing older, high-polluting cars with options that fit their budgets. Funding these programs in the final state budget is essential to keep clean transportation within reach for California families.
Once on the road, the savings continue. EV owners in California can save up to $1,500 in fuel and maintenance over a passenger vehicle’s lifetime, while heavy-duty truck operators can save up to tens of thousands of dollars per vehicle. With volatile fuel prices and rising living costs, those savings matter now. These state incentives for buyers deliver immediate relief at the point of sale and long-term affordability every month after.
Electric vehicles do more than move people. Bidirectional charging turns EVs into mobile batteries that charge from the grid and supply power back to homes during outages. One Santa Cruz-area family already powers their entire home with their electric pickup truck during frequent mountain blackouts.
They’re not alone. Across California, EV owners are running refrigerators, lights, phones and medical equipment when the grid fails. By 2045, this distributed battery network could deliver over $10 billion annually in grid savings by cutting peak demand, avoiding costly upgrades and lowering rates for all customers.
Despite significant progress, transportation remains California’s largest source of smog and climate pollution, with communities near ports, warehouses and truck routes bearing the heaviest health burden for decades. Clean truck investments are beginning to change that reality.
At the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, electric drayage trucks are replacing diesel vehicles that operate all day in nearby neighborhoods. California-based companies like Tradelink Transport are deploying zero-emission trucks that eliminate tailpipe pollution while dramatically lowering operating costs.
Replacing heavy-duty diesel vehicles could deliver up to $5.6 billion in statewide health and environmental benefits while modernizing California’s goods-movement system. Demand for the Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project consistently exceeds available funding – clear evidence that fleets are ready to electrify when incentives exist. The Legislature should continue funding this essential cost-saving and public health program.
In Humboldt County, McKinleyville Union School District used California Climate Investments to purchase four zero-emission school buses, cutting fuel and maintenance costs by 60% while improving air quality for 250 students. In rural communities, the Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) program helps growers replace diesel equipment with cleaner alternatives, reducing both air pollution and fuel costs.
Yet despite its success, the current state budget left FARMER without funding – ignoring an urgent need among California’s agricultural communities that must be addressed this year.
Major corporations also see the value. In 2024, PepsiCo announced a major expansion of its California electric fleet, including 50 Class 8 Tesla Semi trucks and 75 Ford E-Transit vans to cut costs and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. By energizing 20 trucks ahead of schedule, the company estimates it will avoid roughly 8,000 tons of CO₂ and save about $1 million in fuel costs. These projects support jobs across manufacturing, construction, utilities and technology – and they depend on stable, multi-year state investment to scale.
Federal rollbacks of national standards and the loss of key tax credits have rattled the ZEV market, triggering clean energy investment cancellations nationwide that wiped out 39,000 jobs and $29 billion in 2025, according to EDF analysis. California’s state transportation budget remains one of the Legislature’s most reliable tools to preserve momentum, protect affordability and deliver results. The Legislature should seize this opportunity.
These ZEV buyer incentives accelerate adoption now to lock in long-term savings, cleaner air, consumer choice and economic benefits for decades. Meanwhile, EV costs continue to fall rapidly across multiple segments. Passenger electric vehicles are nearing upfront price parity with gasoline models – and in some cases, they’re already cheaper.
California’s clean transportation investments are working – at homes, ports, schools, farms and businesses statewide. The question is whether California’s leaders will continue building on what’s already succeeding. The evidence from communities across California is clear: continued investment delivers real returns. Now is the time to double down.
Results were released today for the February 18 auction for the joint California–Quebec Cap-and-Invest market, the first of the year and the first since the California Air Resources Board (CARB) published its initial plans for updating this cornerstone climate program.
Today’s allowance prices, detailed below, signal lackluster demand and suggest there is ample room in the emissions market to tighten the cap in order to maximize program benefits for the achievement of California’s climate emissions reduction targets, cost of living and the state’s economy. With almost 88% of the allowances in this auction bought by compliance entities, it’s clear that the low prices are not just the result of financial interests’ speculation — there is real opportunity for tightening these allowance budgets and reducing emissions in the near-term. Modestly improving market confidence is important given that recent uncertainty leading up to last year’s program reauthorization through 2045 cost the state roughly $3 billion.
California’s Cap-and-Invest program serves as the state’s emissions backstop: a foundational policy to cap and reduce climate pollution, while generating critical revenue to invest in energy affordability, climate resilience, infrastructure, and more. And, California’s suite of climate policies produced one of the largest annual emissions reduction while California’s economy continues to grow. The latest data from CARB shows statewide greenhouse gas emissions fell another 3% in the most recent inventory — equivalent to taking more than 2.6 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year. Cap-and-Invest is a key part of that success. But there’s still more that California needs to do in order to make sure this program is really delivering reductions at the pace and scale required to meet its climate targets while also addressing household energy affordability.
With the formal rulemaking process now in motion, CARB has a pivotal chance to set the cap-and-invest program’s ambition at a level that truly meets this moment — both for cutting emissions and delivering tangible benefits to communities across California. EDF supports the adoption of a stronger emissions cap and stronger reductions in the cap compared to what CARB proposed in the Initial Statement of Reasons (ISOR).
The allowance budget reductions outlined in the agency’s proposal reflect only the minimum needed to align with the 2030 emissions reduction targets, well below the stronger pathway CARB previously presented. The proposal would remove about 118 million allowances from 2027-2030 and set a post-2030 pathway to an 85% emission reduction by 2045. While this represents progress compared to the existing cap trajectory, deeper reductions before 2030 are essential to ensure the program drives near-term emissions cuts and maximizes benefits for households and communities across California.
Preliminary modeling conducted by Greenline Insights for EDF shows CARB could reduce emissions at a faster pace while maintaining cumulative cost savings for low- and moderate- income households.
With a growing list of states considering policies like California’s and seeking to join the state’s emissions market, the stakes could not be higher. California pioneered this policy and must show that it works. The relatively weak demand for allowances seen in today’s auction results — selling out current vintages, but at the price floor — illustrates a tighter cap and faster rate of emissions reduction are the most logical path forward to meet the affordability needs of households across California and the urgency for climate action at scale.
