Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)

Climate Adaptation and Resilience: The Road to COP26

A live webcast will be streamed at 11:00 AM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to join us for a briefing on raising global ambition to fund and implement climate adaptation and resilience.
During Earth Day week, the Biden-Harris Administration will host the Leaders Summit on Climate and will unveil its new greenhouse gas reduction goal—the U.S. Nationally Determined Contribution—under the Paris Agreement. Designed to build momentum ahead of the next meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP26, the Summit is expected to focus on how major emitting countries can redouble efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across sectors and geographies.
This briefing will highlight the complementary global efforts to advance climate adaptation and resilience in the lead-up to COP26. These efforts are intended to share best practices, develop metrics, and mobilize countries and subnational actors dedicated to protecting people and nature. Speakers will also discuss the key roles of financing, implementation, disaster preparedness, and the need for systemic action in building resilience. Speakers for this forum are:

Protecting Vulnerable Communities from Climate Impacts

A live webcast will be streamed at 02:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast
Climate events like sea-level rise, extreme precipitation, and dangerous heatwaves and cold snaps—like the one Texas recently endured—stress our already vulnerable affordable housing stock and disproportionately impact low-income, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Preparing for climate shocks by assessing the vulnerability of buildings and communities to climate events and improving the resilience of affordable housing and neighborhood infrastructure are necessary to avoid future financial and social impacts on owners, residents, and communities.
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing hosted in coordination with the National Housing Trust and the Natural Resources Defense Council (national partners with the Energy Efficiency for All project) about the challenges and opportunities involved in protecting physically and socially vulnerable communities from the worst impacts of climate change. Speakers will discuss a new data resource developed by Climate Central that identifies federally-subsidized affordable housing at risk of chronic flooding due to sea-level rise; property-level climate risk assessment tools that are being piloted in Miami; a recently published scorecard of state flood-risk disclosure policies; and resilience measures in Los Angeles.

Toward an Evidence-Based Nuclear Energy Policy

A live webcast will be streamed at 02:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast





— Briefing Backgrounder —
Toward an Evidence-Based Nuclear Energy Policy: Gaps in Research, Regulation, Policy, and Practice in the U.S. Nuclear Industry, and What Policymakers Can Do to Bridge Them
(PDF)

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to join an online briefing on nuclear energy issues, including the current economics of the U.S. nuclear power industry, how to approach decommissioning as more civilian reactors shut down, and what to do with their high-level radioactive waste. In particular, the briefing will assess the impacts of extending the licenses of existing nuclear plants and pursuing “advanced reactors” as a way to fight climate change.
As U.S. nuclear plants age out or become unprofitable, the growing number of shuttered reactors has spawned a new decommissioning business model which promises to remediate sites quickly, but also raises new questions about safety, financial assurance, cleanup standards, and waste disposition. Decommissioning companies want to ship highly radioactive spent fuel through 75% of Congressional districts to their proposed consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs) in New Mexico and Texas, which overburdened residents there oppose. Congress will likely be asked to change basic provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act this year to enable CISFs. Meanwhile, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to lengthen the duration of license extensions for operating nuclear plants, potentially allowing them to keep running and generating radioactive waste for more than 80 years.
To help inform major decisions on nuclear energy policy facing Congress, the briefing will point out gaps in current research and data, federal policy, and regulatory oversight, and what can be done to fill them. It will examine how some other countries safeguard their radioactive waste, and offer practical recommendations to help make pending U.S. policy and regulatory decisions about nuclear energy more evidence-based, and better aligned with science and environmental justice.
This is the fourth EESI briefing on nuclear plant decommissioning and radioactive waste issues. It will be a moderated discussion with leading experts and advocates, including:

Congressional Climate Camp #3: Lessons Learned from Past Congresses and Current Attitudes on Climate

Congressional Climate Camps



Find out more about the briefings in this series below:



Jan. 29
Budget, Appropriations, and Stimulus


Feb. 26
Federal Policies for High Emitting Sectors


Mar. 26
Lessons Learned from Past Congresses and Current Attitudes on Climate


Apr. 30
Federal Policy for Mitigation and Adaptation Win-Wins


May 21
Understanding Budget Reconciliation



Overview of the Climate Camp series


A live webcast will be streamed at 02:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast
Ready to make a difference in climate policy? But not sure where to start? We have you covered. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to join us for our start-of-the-new-Congress Climate Camp online briefing series. We will go over the basics of the legislative process, highlighting key areas and opportunities for achieving near-term and long-term carbon reductions through policy.
Our third session will look at past legislative efforts to establish climate policy and the current political and public opinion environment on climate change, in order to explore the forces that are shaping current Congressional work to address the climate crisis.
EESI’s Congressional Climate Camp is designed for you to get the information you need, so join us for the full session or jump in and out.



2:00 PM


Welcome from EESI Executive Director Daniel Bresette




2:05 PM


Key Turning Points in Climate Policy History
Kathleen McGinty, Vice President of Global Government Relations, Johnson Controls




2:30 PM


Climate Policy Then and Now: An Advocate’s Perspective
Tina Johnson, Principal, Johnson Strategy & Development Consultants; Director, National Black Environmental Justice Network




2:55 PM


Current Attitudes, Polarization, and Environmental Policy
Dr. Laurel Harbridge-Yong, Associate Professor, Northwestern University




3:20 PM


What Congressional Staff Should Know about Climate Policy
Dr. Ana Unruh Cohen, Staff Director, House of Representatives Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

2021 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook

A live webcast will be streamed at 02:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast
Hosted in coordination with:
Senate Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucus
Sponsored by:
Business Council for Sustainable Energy and Environmental and Energy Study Institute
The ninth edition of the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, published by BloombergNEF (BNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), was released on February 18, 2021, and is 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.

Energy Efficiency Means Business 2021

A live webcast will be streamed at 12:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing to hear from a panel of experts about how federal energy efficiency programs create jobs and deliver direct meaningful savings to constituent homeowners, consumers, and businesses—all while reducing the stresses and strains on our energy system. Making investments in energy efficiency also encourages productive public-private partnerships and collaboration, improves the sustainability and resilience of our communities, and contributes to meaningful, near-term reductions in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Congressional Climate Camp #2: Federal Policies for High Emitting Sectors

A live webcast will be streamed at 02:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast
Ready to make a difference in climate policy? But not sure where to start? We have you covered. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to join us for our all-new, start-of-the-new-Congress Climate Camp online briefing series. We will go over the basics of the legislative process, highlighting key areas and opportunities for achieving near-term and long-term carbon reductions through policy.
Our second session will discuss the sectors with the highest carbon emissions, and highlight policy mechanisms to reduce emissions in each sector—power generation, industry, buildings, transportation, and agriculture. Each of these sectors has unique challenges in reducing carbon emissions. Federal policymakers have an array of options to address these challenges through coordinated action, thereby maximizing impact across sectors.


2:00 PM


Welcome from EESI Executive Director Daniel Bresette




2:05 PM


AGRICULTURE 9.9 percent of U.S. emissions
Dr. Christina Tonitto, Ecosystem Scientist, Department of Global Development, Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences




2:25 PM


POWER GENERATION 26.9 percent of U.S. emissions
Dr. Deepakraj Divan, Professor and Director of the Center for Distributed Energy at the Georgia Institute of Technology




2:45 PM


BUILDINGS 12.3 percent of U.S. emissions
Liz Beardsley, Senior Policy Counsel, U.S. Green Building Council




3:05 PM


INDUSTRY 22 percent of U.S. emissions
Dr. Julio Friedmann, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs




3:25 PM


TRANSPORTATION 28.2 percent of U.S. emissions
John Porcari, formerly President of U.S. Advisory Services at WSP; formerly Obama Administration Deputy Secretary of Transportation

Relief and Housing Assistance for COVID-Impacted Communities

A live webcast will be streamed at 02:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing hosted in coordination with the National Housing Trust and the Natural Resources Defense Council (national partners with the Energy Efficiency for All project) about the costs and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn for housing and energy services. Panelists will explore issues faced locally by communities hard-hit by the dual crises, especially in southern and midwestern regions, including mounting utility bill arrearages; electric, gas and water shutoffs; and evictions. The harmful effects of the crises are distributed unevenly, with unjust burdens crushing low-income, Black, Indigenous, and people-of-color communities.
Speakers will also discuss national policy solutions that can deliver relief and help communities eager to recover. The Biden-Harris Administration and many in Congress are proposing increases in energy, water, and rental assistance and other provisions that protect against shutoffs and evictions. Panelists will have a discussion with participants online about the threats to communities and the different policy solutions already in place—including the CARES Act and the COVID-19 Economic Relief Bill—and those currently being debated, such as President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

Congressional Climate Camp #1: Budget, Appropriations, and Stimulus

A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast
Ready to make a difference in climate policy? But not sure where to start? We have you covered. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to join us for our all-new, start-of-the-new-Congress Climate Camp online briefing series. We will go over the basics of the legislative process, highlighting key areas and opportunities for achieving near-term and long-term carbon reductions through policy.
Our first session will bring you up to speed on the budget and appropriations process already underway for fiscal year 2022. Presenters will draw on examples of funding for climate, energy, and environment programs to bring the process to life and show how it plays out in practice. Then, the session will dive into how stimulus packages take shape, the role of climate action in stimulus, and what to expect in the upcoming months as the new administration and the 117th Congress work to address the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
EESI’s Congressional Climate Camp is designed for you to get the information you need, so join us for the full session or jump in and out.



2:00 PM


Welcome from EESI Executive Director Daniel Bresette




2:10 PM



Nuts and Bolts of Budget and Appropriations
Corrie Clark, Energy Policy Analyst, Congressional Research Service




2:45 PM


On the Ground with Budget and Appropriations
Franz Wuerfmannsdobler, Senior Advisor, Bipartisan Policy Center




3:20 PM


What You Need to Know About Stimulus
Karen Wayland, CEO, kW Energy Strategies




3:55 PM


Conclusions and Resources for More Information

2020 Climate Action Update

A live webcast will be streamed at 3:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
2020 is a major benchmark year for climate goals, with national governments, cities, states, corporations, higher education institutions, faith-based groups, and investors aiming to reach initial targets by this year. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to join us for a briefing to assess progress towards climate mitigation and adaptation goals in the United States as we reach the last few weeks of 2020. What climate goals have been met and where did they fall short? What challenges emerged and what innovations and policies helped?
The briefing will feature a presentation of two major reports, We Are Still In to Deliver America’s Pledge: A Retrospective and Delivering on America’s Pledge: Achieving Climate Progress in 2020. Together, the reports cover progress made by states, cities, and businesses to reduce emissions since 2017 and explore the implications of COVID-19 on reaching 2030 emission reduction goals.
The presentation will be followed by a moderated discussion focused on what Congress can learn from the policies and on-the-ground projects that have driven emission reductions in recent years.