Climate 411

This post is part of a series examining Enhancing California’s Resiliency to Natural Catastrophes, a report prepared by the California Earthquake Authority in response to Senate Bill 254. The report presents policy options for addressing California’s interconnected wildfire, insurance, and electric utility challenges. In this blog, we assess the report’s insurance-related proposals and consider h…

By Ben Jones & Veronica Ung-Kono The Western power grid is increasingly strained by rapid load growth, surging demand to interconnect new power sources, extreme weather and pressure to deliver affordable electricity. Proactively planning interstate electric transmission lines –the high voltage wires that transport cost-effective and clean power across long distances – is essential to ... The post…

This post is part of a series examining ‘Enhancing California’s Resiliency to Natural Catastrophes’, a report prepared by the California Earthquake Authority in response to Senate Bill 254. The report presents policy options for addressing California’s interconnected wildfire, insurance, and electric utility challenges. In this blog, we consider how California can build a coordinated, long-term a…

If you live in California, you’re already paying the cost of catastrophic wildfire three times: in your homeowner insurance bill, in your electricity bill and through your taxes. Survivors pay a fourth time through the damage and destruction of their home and community. Sadly, the bills will only keep climbing because the fires driving them ... The post What policymakers need to know about Califo…

Electricity prices are rising across the U.S. as demand grows for the first time in 20 years. Instead of expanding access to low-cost, reliable clean power, the Trump administration is making the problem worse by restricting homegrown energy supplies—creating a self-inflicted rate hike just when the country needs more power. The post How the Trump administration is obstructing clean energy – and …

When Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) initially submitted its 2025–2026 general rate case, customers faced the prospect of an 18% rate hike — a crushing burden at a time when North Carolina families are already struggling with high costs of living. As an intervenor in the proceeding before the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), Environmental Defense ... The post The Duke Energy settlement is …

California just took another major step toward cleaner air, healthier communities and more affordable transportation. Governor Newsom recently signed a state budget that invests roughly $600 million in cleaning up local air pollution – especially from transportation. The package includes a first-of-its-kind instant rebate program for first-time electric vehicle buyers, continued investments in ch…

Texas has quickly become a new epicenter for data center development, on track to pass Virginia as the largest data center market in the U.S. in the coming years. As of right now, there are about 335 data centers in operation in the state, with at least 247 projects in development. These facilities will need ... The post Texas tries to answer key questions about upcoming data center boom appeared…

New York recently passed major rollbacks to its landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in an opaque process as part of New York’s FY2027 budget negotiations. While the state’s long-term climate commitments remain, these changes allow the state to delay action on cutting climate and health-harming pollution and slow the transition away from price-volatile ... The post Breaking do…

State regulators have an opportunity to ensure this transition prioritizes the economic well-being of North Carolina families over the profit margins of out-of-state developers and Duke Energy shareholders. The post Grid expectations: Re-wiring Duke Energy’s rate case for a clean energy future appeared first on Climate 411 .

Recent proposals in Congress and across federal agencies have emphasized fully suppressing wildfire. Putting out every wildfire as quickly as possible can increase the threat posed to communities by the most dangerous wildfires. Sometimes a slower approach to firefighting can help protect firefighters and nearby communities while reducing the risk of more catastrophic wildfires in ... The post Fi…

The ocean is the foundation for life on Earth. It supports global trade, food and nutrition systems, energy security, and economic stability, while also serving as the planet’s largest active carbon sink, absorbing roughly 25% of global carbon emissions and more than 90% of excess heat from climate change.   Today, it sits at the nexus of interconnected challenges: climate change, biodiversity lo…

Results were released today for the second auction of the year, and 14th overall, in Washington’s Cap-and-Invest program. The auction, conducted last week, followed shortly after Washington’s Department of Ecology officially launched its formal rulemaking process to link Washington’s Carbon Market with the California-Québec market. This is the second major linkage milestone achieved this year; ..…

When a utility company like Duke Energy plans for the future, they try to predict how much electricity their customers will need a decade from now. It’s a guessing game involving new factories, data centers and population growth. But what happens if those guesses are wrong? According to energy expert Robert Patrylak, North Carolinians might ... The post Why Duke Energy’s latest gas plant proposal…

International climate diplomacy continues next week in Bonn, Germany, where negotiators and advocates will set the stage for the United Nations’ climate conference COP31 later this year in Antalya, Türkiye. London Climate Action Week – taking place later in June – will then gather the largest mobilization of UK and EU-based companies, finance institutions, and civil society groups focused on clim…

Results were released today for the year’s second auction of the California-Québec carbon market, known as the Western Climate Initiative. This is the last auction before the California Air Resources Board votes on new regulations regarding the implementation of this program, at their hearing scheduled for tomorrow and Friday. If CARB approves the draft regulations ... The post California’s lates…

The Trump EPA is dismantling a series of clean air protections that reduce dangerous pollution from cars and trucks, power plants, oil and gas facilities, and other sources. And thanks to a policy quietly adopted earlier this year, the agency isn’t even bothering to estimate the overwhelmingly harmful health impacts of these actions. For instance, just last week EPA proposed delaying life-saving …

Diesel prices are at record highs, squeezing truckers and driving up freight costs nationwide. Prices in parts of California have climbed above $7 a gallon. These escalating costs can force independent drivers off the road and push major carriers to impose fuel surcharges.  Fuel is one of the trucking industry’s largest and most volatile costs. When diesel prices spike, margins shrink, small oper…

California is building a vital corporate climate disclosure program that will foster greater transparency and economic resilience. The decisions made now will determine how clearly investors, companies and the public can understand where greenhouse gas emissions occur, how risks and opportunities are evolving and where solutions can scale. In comments recently submitted to the California ... The …

The Trump EPA recently made the deeply damaging decision to repeal the Endangerment Finding — the foundational scientific determination that climate change harms public health and welfare. To justify that decision, it relied on new and deeply flawed analysis that the American public never got a fair chance to examine.   Environmental Defense Fund led a group of 16 environmental and public health …