Climate Change Solutions - December 8, 2020

Welcome back to Climate Change Solutions!

Today, read about how battery storage programs benefit the grid and customers and what experts say about preventing the next pandemic. On the Hill, catch up with the latest environmental bills and hearings introduced to Congress and see how new aviation legislation could pave the way for emission reductions. 

Don't miss our coverage of recent developments in building codes and our latest issue brief on how coal country can adapt to the energy transition. 

Finally, do you wonder how the election will impact climate action? Wonder no more! EESI sat down with climate policy reporter Jean Chemnick in our latest podcast episode. The Climate Conversation is available to listen on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts!

And now for a quick recap of environmental and energy news:

• Construction on six community solar projects is set to begin in Illinois
• GE and Veolia teamed up to use decommissioned wind turbine blades in cement
• Uber, Rivian, JetBlue, Cabify, and Boom Supersonic signed a climate pledge to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2040, 10 years early
• A coral reef taller than the Empire State Building was discovered in Australia's Great Barrier Reef
• The first 'murder hornet' nest found in the United States has been destroyed
• The U.N. Secretary-General called on humanity to end its 'war on nature' and go carbon-free

Did you hear that EESI received the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator? For the 6th year in a row, EESI received a Four Star rating. And for the first time GuideStar awarded EESI their Platinum Seal of Transparency!

Love our work? Forward this newsletter to a friend! Have a climate solution? Reach out to Solutions editor Amber Todoroff with tips and gossip!

Video Short: By Air, Land, and Sea: Navigating the Climate Future EESI held a briefing series on climate mitigation and adaptation in the transportation sector. The series covered ports, aviation, and public transit.   Headlines Experts Discuss How to Prevent the Next Pandemic [5 min. read] Little is currently known about how COVID-19 began infecting humans, although it is widely accepted that the disease originated in the wild. On October 20, the Property and Environment Research Center convened public health and wildlife experts to discuss the current state of science on COVID-19 emergence and the danger the wildlife trade presents to human populations. [click for more]   Home Battery Storage Programs Provide Grid Flexibility and Save Customers Money [6 min. read] Over the past decade, grid-scale battery storage power capacity has grown rapidly, more than quadrupling since 2014, with expectations it will double again by 2022. Advancements in battery storage technology promise to provide the needed grid flexibility that will reduce stress on the grid, save customers money, and allow renewable energy generation to continue to grow. [click for more]

On the Hill From November 10 to December 3, activity resumed in Congress as the House and Senate together introduced a total of 37 bills and resolutions related to environmental and energy topics. Of these, 11 were in the Senate and 26 in the House. The Senate also held four committee hearings on environmental and energy issues, while the House held one. Finally, the Senate passed four bills. Highlights Many bills introduced in this period focused on public lands. For example, S.4950 aims to improve the process for awarding Department of Agriculture grants, and H.R.8849 aims to facilitate land exchanges between the state of California and the federal government. Several other bills focused on ocean and water resources: all four bills which passed the Senate were within this issue area. Among them was S.4462, the Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support (FLOODS) Act, which would create a national integrated flood information system within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and S.1069, the Digital Coast Act, which aims to increase flooding and coastal hazard data availability and accessibility within the NOAA Digital Coast Project. Bills of note in other issue areas during this period include S.4887, which would eliminate subsidies from fossil fuel production, and H.R.8769, which would support the market for Sustainable Aviation Fuels, a lower-carbon aircraft fuel.     See EESI's full environmental legislative tracker for November 10 to December 3 here.   New Legislation Sets Policy Menu for Sustainable Aviation Fuels As the aviation industry recovers from the severe contraction caused by the pandemic, sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) will be essential to help the sector achieve a path to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. On November 18, Representative Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) introduced the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act (H.R. 8769). The bill, described by Rep. Brownley during a recent EESI aviation briefing, establishes a national goal for the U.S. aviation sector of a 35 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2035 and net-zero domestic and international aviation emissions by 2050. [click for more]   Overview of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Hearings This updated article provides a brief overview of each hearing and the key policy recommendations highlighted by the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis throughout 2020. [click for more]

EESI Briefings and Fact Sheets   News - Building Energy Codes Leap Forward on Efficiency but Stumble on Electrification [3 min. read] Every three years, the International Code Council (ICC) convenes hundreds of building scientists, homebuilders, state and local officials, and energy efficiency advocates to develop the latest version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The process is arcane and rigid; the debate gets heated. But in the end, after a year of analysis, writing, arguing, and sometimes yelling, the process results in the model code used by most states and many cities to regulate how our homes and commercial buildings consume energy.  Read the rest from EESI's executive director here. [click for more]   Issue Brief - How Coal Country Can Adapt to the Energy Transition Rapid decarbonization is essential, but communities that have developed with the coal industry as their backbone are already feeling the burden of the energy and economic transition. Policymakers at all levels of government are interested in mitigating harm to coal-dependent communities. This issue brief characterizes broad issues for communities in transition and surveys federal and regional policies, programs, and proposals intended to provide workforce development opportunities, diversify local economies, and alleviate economic hardship. [click for more]   Press Release - EESI Receives Highest Rating from Charity Navigator For the sixth year in a row, EESI is proud to have received a Four-Star rating from Charity Navigator for sound fiscal management and a proven commitment to accountability and transparency. Through our commitment to transparency, EESI also earned a 2020 Platinum Seal of Transparency, the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit information. [click for more]

EESI Around Town   EESI's recent nuclear decommissioning briefing was cited in an article by the Santa Fe New Mexican.   E&E News cited our Aviation fact sheets in a recent article. [subscription only]   EESI's coal transition fact sheet was cited by Canada-based publication Electrek. Upcoming Events   2020 Climate Action Update Tomorrow – December 9 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm EST Online at www.eesi.org/livecast Join us for an online 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. Speakers: Carla Frisch, Senior Principal, Rocky Mountain Institute Nate Hultman, Founder and Director, Center for Global Sustainability; Associate Professor, University of Maryland Brandon Wu, Director of Policy and Campaigns, ActionAid USA Lisa Jacobson, President, Business Council for Sustainable Energy Elan Strait, Director, U.S. Climate Campaigns, World Wildlife Fund   Thank You to EESI Team Members for Their Contributions to Climate Change Solutions: Sydney O'Shaughnessy - Layout, Design, and Content Editor Amaury Laporte - Communications Director As well as all EESI Staff, Interns, and Fellows who write and review content!   Environmental and Energy Study Institute  Daniel Bresette, Executive Director   EESI is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1984 by a bipartisan Congressional caucus to provide timely information and develop innovative policy solutions that set us on a cleaner, more secure and sustainable energy path.   www.eesi.org                 CFC #10627