Climate 411

Cap-and-invest program continues to drive down climate pollution and raise investments in Washington state

By Caroline Jones / Published: June 11, 2025

Results were released today for Washington’s second cap-and-invest auction of the year, administered last Wednesday 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.

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Also posted in Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Authors: / Comments are closed

Three signs solar radiation modification research is moving in the right direction 

By Lisa Dilling / Published: May 28, 2025

It’s been a consequential month for research on solar radiation modification (SRM). And while there has been a lot of news lately that’s concerning to those of us working in climate, it’s important to celebrate progress in fundamental areas: advancing public research and creating more global connections across the SRM research community.  

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Also posted in Geoengineering, Science / Authors: / Comments are closed

As California moves closer to authorizing a West-wide electricity market, new analysis shows how the market will benefit other Western states

By Michael Colvin and Alex DeGolia / Published: May 23, 2025

This is the second in a blog series on the opportunities presented by the Pathways Initiative. Check back for additional publications in the series coming soon. 

An expanded regional electricity market is coming into focus in the West. A bill is currently moving through the California legislature that will enable the state to join a West-wide electricity market operated by a regional organization and overseen by an independent governing board — a move that will unleash California’s clean electricity potential and benefit the entire West. New analysis underscores how this market will deliver cleaner, cheaper and more reliable electricity to its participants.

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Also posted in Cities and states, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Authors: , / Comments are closed

A budget bill with sweeping attacks on safeguards that protect Americans

By Surbhi Sarang / Published: May 21, 2025

Photo: Bjoertvedt, Wikimedia Commons

The budget reconciliation bill is now working its way through Congress, and what President Trump calls the “big, beautiful bill” has a lot of ugly provisions in it.

Among those ugly provisions are sweeping attacks on federal agencies and their ability to carry out their responsibilities under the law to protect the health and safety of the American public.

These provisions borrow from previous legislation that never made it into law, and so far they have received relatively little public attention compared to other parts of the budget reconciliation bill.

If signed into law, they would erect nearly insurmountable procedural hurdles to maintaining our existing health and environmental protections, and to establishing new ones. Safeguards that Americans rely on every day – from air quality standards to food and product safety regulations – are all at risk.

In addition to being harmful and misguided public policy, these provisions have no place in a budget reconciliation bill – which is supposed to include only provisions that are primarily intended to affect spending or revenues. Because the harmful policy impacts of the provisions are the intent and the budgetary impact is incidental – and far outweighed by the damage that would result –the House’s attempt to shoehorn these provisions into the budget reconciliation bill is an end-run around Congress’s own rules.

Here are some of those provisions:

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Also posted in Policy / Authors: / Comments are closed

Despite $1 billion budgeted for clean energy, New York’s delayed cap-and-invest rollout is costing residents billions more in savings

By Kate Courtin / Published: May 16, 2025

Last week, New York approved its 2025 budget, which includes $1 billion to invest in clean energy, energy efficiency and other programs that will reduce pollution and save New Yorkers money. Unfortunately, the benefits of these investments are overshadowed by the delayed launch of New York’s cap-and-invest program, which would provide billions more in savings to New Yorkers every year.  

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Also posted in Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Authors: / Comments are closed

New tax bill repealing clean energy incentives will raise costs, surrender jobs and increase pollution

By EDF Blogs / Published: May 15, 2025

Professional worker installing solar panels. Shutterstock.

(This post was written by EDF Vice President for Political and Government Affairs Joanna Slaney)

Two key U.S. House committees this week advanced a tax plan that effectively ends incentives for clean energy and electric vehicles, undermining an American-made energy boom while raising costs for businesses and families and threatening people’s health with more pollution.

The draft legislation also includes repeals of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s tailpipe pollution standards and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s more protective fuel economy standards for the nation’s new cars and passenger trucks – rules aimed at reducing expensive fuel use and harmful pollution while providing cleaner air.

The move is a clear abuse of the reconciliation process, which allows Congress to advance certain spending and tax bills on a simple majority vote, freeing lawmakers from the 60-vote threshold in the Senate most legislation must meet to be considered.

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