On April 8, Hawaii Governor David Ige formally announced the Green Energy Money $aver (GEM$) on-bill financing program, a statewide initiative to make clean energy more affordable for homes and small businesses. The culmination of more than seven years of work by Hawaiian authorities, the program provides easy-access financing for cost-effective rooftop solar panels and other renewable distributed energy systems, as well as energy efficiency upgrades. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) has provided assistance to the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA), the GEM$ administrator, since 2017.

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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is calling for bipartisan support of the Climate Action Now Act (HR 9), which was introduced into the House of Representatives today. The legislation would prohibit the use of federal funds to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, and would direct the President to unveil a plan to meet the carbon reduction goals the United States pledged to meet when it signed the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016. The Agreement calls on the world's nations to keep global warming significantly below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by transitioning to clean energy and adopting energy efficiency measures.

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Carol Werner, who has served as the Environmental and Energy Study Institute's Executive Director for the past 21 years, will step down in summer 2019, once her successor is confirmed. "Carol has been an amazing asset to the organization, and has played a critical role in making EESI the trusted policymaker resource it is today," said EESI Chair Jared Blum.

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Today, the Department of Defense released a Congressionally-mandated report on the effects of a changing climate on America's military bases. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute welcomes the report but finds it incomplete, as it fails to list the most vulnerable bases, per Congress's directive. More importantly, the report doesn’t list and price out actionable measures that could be taken to better prepare America's armed forces for the impacts of climate change.

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The New York-based Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust has awarded a $300,000 grant to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) to showcase resilience as a major component of climate change adaptation in federal policy, with a particular focus on coastal communities and nature-based solutions.

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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) congratulates the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, for being one of nine winners in Bloomberg Philanthropies' 2018 U.S. Mayors Challenge. Fort Collins’s EPIC Loan program for residential energy upgrades was awarded a $1 million prize from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Its innovative, on-bill financing-based approach aims to provide health and equity benefits for low- and moderate-income renters by improving the energy efficiency and indoor air quality of rental homes.

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This Saturday, 197 countries—including the United States—agreed on a rule book for the Paris Climate Agreement, which calls on the world's nations to keep global warming significantly below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Participating countries have already submitted written pledges to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, by transitioning to cleaner energy sources and by promoting energy efficiency. But rules were needed to ensure that countries could monitor each other’s actions, and properly measure their impacts.

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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) commends the Farm Bill conferees and the House and Senate Agriculture Committees for their tireless commitment to produce a Farm Bill, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, this year. In a year when farmers, ranchers, and rural communities are struggling, and the agricultural economy is down nearly 50 percent compared to 2014, finalizing the Farm Bill is more important than ever. According to EESI Policy Associate Jessie Stolark, “Whether it’s producing a greater variety of renewable and bio-based products from forestry residues and agricultural resources, helping farmers and rural communities adapt to climate, or further supporting energy efficiency programs that help rural residents save energy and money, the Farm Bill could be doing even more to deliver economic development, climate adaptation and mitigation tools to rural America."

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On November 23, 2018, the U.S. government released Volume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA), which confirms—once again—that climate change is already having adverse impacts on Americans. "How many wake-up calls do we need? Every new National Climate Assessment has built on the previous one, confirming that climate change is already happening, and that we need to act," said EESI Executive Director Carol Werner.

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Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials celebrated on Wednesday a $13 million USDA no-interest loan to a group of seven South Carolina electric cooperatives to make energy-savings improvements to approximately 1,300 co-op member homes. "The Environmental and Energy Study Institute welcomes this funding and Congressman Clyburn's continued support for energy efficiency initiatives. We have been working closely with South Carolina cooperatives—and cooperatives throughout the United States—to help their members reduce their energy use and bills, while improving their home comfort," said EESI Executive Director Carol Werner.

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