Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)

A Security Threat Assessment of Global Climate Change

Please RSVP to expedite check-in
A live webcast will be streamed at 3:30 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Center for Climate and Security and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute invite you to a briefing on projected climate change impacts on U.S. security and national interests in the coming decades. How will climate impacts affect geopolitics, infrastructure, and security environments in a world with a 2-degree Celsius rise in average global temperature? How about a 4-degree rise?
The briefing will showcase the Center for Climate and Security’s Security Threat Assessment of Global Climate Change report, a product of the National Security, Military, and Intelligence Panel on Climate Change. The report is a comprehensive look at the wide-ranging security impacts of climate change across all six geographic U.S. Combatant Commands, under two scenarios of future warming (a 1-2°C rise in temperatures, and a 2-4°C rise). Authored by a diverse group of U.S. national security and intelligence experts, this report offers both regional and international threat assessments for climate change, and recommendations for the way forward in addressing the looming global challenge.

2020 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook

Hosted in coordination with:
House and Senate Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucuses
Sponsored by:
Business Council for Sustainable Energy and Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Lunch will be served.
Please RSVP to expedite check-in
A live webcast will be streamed at 12:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The eighth edition of the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, published in partnership by BloombergNEF (BNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), will be released on February 13, 2020, and available to download at www.bcse.org/factbook. The Factbook provides updates on industry information and trends for the U.S. energy economy, with an in-depth look at the energy efficiency, natural gas, and renewable energy sectors, as well as emerging areas such as digitalization, micro-grids, offshore wind, hydrogen, and renewable natural gas.

Coastal Resilience in the Great Lakes Region

Please RSVP to expedite check-in
A live webcast will be streamed at 2:30 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on the actions being taken to manage increasing temperatures, flooding, and other coastal hazards impacting communities and ecosystems in the Great Lakes region. This briefing will showcase nature-based solutions for climate adaptation in rural and urban settings, and show how cutting-edge technology and traditional practices can be used to create resilient communities.
The panelists will describe the collaborative process between federal, state, and local stakeholders in collecting, sharing, and acting on scientific data to inform policy decisions around adaptation and help communities define and achieve their resilience goals. These projects can serve as a model for other regions experiencing similar issues.

Resilience along the West Coast

Please RSVP to expedite check-in
A live webcast will be streamed at 1:30 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Coastal States Organization invite you to a briefing on science and policy initiatives that are helping protect West Coast ecosystems and communities from erosion, sea level rise, and other coastal hazards. The briefing will showcase nature-based solutions, which can protect human lives and property while creating habitat for wildlife and supporting various coastal industries. These techniques can also be paired with traditional “gray” infrastructure to meet a greater variety of planning needs.
The panelists will describe the collaborative process between federal, state, local, and Tribal stakeholders in collecting, sharing, and acting on scientific data to inform policy decisions around adaptation and help communities define and achieve their resilience goals. These projects can serve as a model for other regions experiencing similar issues

Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States

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A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on key information and recommendations from the report, Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States. Legal Pathways is based on two reports by the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project that explain technical and policy approaches to reducing U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. This 80x50 target and similarly aggressive carbon abatement goals are often referred to as deep decarbonization, as they require systemic changes to the energy economy.
This playbook for deep decarbonization in the United States identifies well over 1,000 options that are achievable in the United States using laws that exist or could be enacted. While both the scale and complexity of deep decarbonization are enormous, these legal tools can be employed with significant economic, social, environmental, and national security benefits.
Briefing panelists, including editors and contributing authors to the report, will discuss how the report can be useful to Congressional offices crafting climate change policies.

The Growing Role of Renewable Energy in the U.S. Energy Mix

Please RSVP to expedite check-in
A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Clean Energy and Technology Staff Association (CETSA) invite you to a briefing on the state of play for renewable energy and energy storage technology in the United States. Renewable energy technologies now account for a substantial portion of the U.S. energy portfolio. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, renewable energy generated 17 percent of total energy in 2018, and projections indicate this percentage will continue to grow.
This briefing will provide an overview of innovations in renewable energy and energy storage, not only in solar and wind power, but also in geothermal power, hydropower, and sustainable biomass. Briefing panelists will share first-hand knowledge from federal agencies and industry to provide the most up-to-date information on the role of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix.

Community-Centered Resilience: Lessons from Louisiana

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A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on community-centered resilience featuring an example from Louisiana which holds lessons for all regions of the country. Across the United States, communities are facing increased uncertainty from changes such as shifting agricultural growing seasons and intensifying coastal erosion. These changes hit close to home, and communities should be at the center of finding solutions to increase their resilience.
Louisiana’s Strategic Adaptations for Future Environments (LA SAFE) took on this challenge. The initiative addresses community resilience holistically by integrating risk planning with planning for stormwater management, housing, transportation, economic development, education, recreation, and culture.
Using a ground-breaking approach to community adaptation planning, LA SAFE, which is a collaboration between the Louisiana Office of Community Development and the Foundation for Louisiana, held 71 community meetings and engaged with over 3,000 people in coastal Louisiana. Together, the communities developed adaptation plans and voted on pilot projects, which jumpstarted the initiative’s implementation stage funded by federal Community Development Block Grants.
Briefing panelists will discuss the process and outcomes of the LA SAFE initiative to date to provide attendees with an understanding of how this model can be applied in districts across the country.

Delay and Pay or Plan and Prosper

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A live webcast will be streamed at 9:30 AM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) invite you to a briefing on the Global Commission on Adaptation’s Flagship Report and Year of Action for climate adaptation. The Commission, which is chaired by Former U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-moon, Microsoft Founder Bill Gates, and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, seeks to accelerate adaptation action by elevating its political visibility and focusing on concrete solutions. In September 2019, the Commission launched its flagship report, Adapt Now: A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Resilience, which outlines a roadmap for scaling-up climate adaptation in the United States and abroad in order to safeguard communities and economies from the impacts of climate change. In particular, the report emphasizes the investment potential of climate adaptation initiatives.
The report also kickstarts a Year of Action on climate adaptation, starting in late 2019 and going through 2020, to advance the recommendations from the flagship report which include eight major areas of focus—agriculture, cities, finance, disaster risk management, nature-based solutions, infrastructure, water, and locally-led action. This concentrated effort will help accelerate adaptation action and support, thereby improving human well-being and resulting in better, more sustainable economic development and security for all.
Briefing speakers will highlight key elements of the report and share how federal legislators can engage with the Year of Action for climate adaptation.

Improving Coastal Resilience in the Northeast

Please RSVP to expedite check-in
A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on initiatives and partnerships that are helping protect Northeast shorelines and communities from extreme weather events and other coastal hazards. The briefing will showcase nature-based solutions that support coastal resilience for wilderness areas, small communities, and large cities such as New York City. Nature-based solutions can protect human lives and property while creating habitat for wildlife and providing co-benefits like water filtration. These techniques can also be paired with traditional “gray” infrastructure to meet a greater variety of planning needs.
Much coastal restoration work involves multiple agencies at the local, state, and federal level, often working in conjunction with nonprofits and businesses across state and district lines. The panelists will describe this collaborative process and how buy-in for nature-based resilience projects can be achieved across diverse and sometimes competing interests.

Climate and National Security Forum 2019

Please RSVP to expedite check-in — Seating on a first come, first served basis.
A live webcast will be streamed at 9:30 AM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Center for Climate and Security, in partnership with the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, invites you to join us for the 2019 Climate and National Security Forum: A Climate Security Plan for America. This year’s forum will focus on the risks that climate change presents to U.S. military bases and operations, and on the launch of the Climate and Security Advisory Group’s Climate Security Plan for America, which calls on the U.S. President to recognize climate change as a vital national security threat and issue a National Strategy to fulfill a “responsibility to prepare for and prevent” that threat.