News & Commentary

Meet the activists and NRDC staff propelling change, read our expert analysis, and learn about the latest challenges and solutions to advancing a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable world.

Latest News

Stay on top of the latest research, policy updates, publication releases, and environmental news. 

Explainer

Get a breakdown of complex climate, public health, nature, and equity topics to inform your activism.

Dispatch

Read about activists tackling climate justice and other environmental causes in their communities and beyond.

Perspectives

Discover intersectional viewpoints from activists and artists on the environmental issues of the moment.

NRDC in Action

Find out how NRDC protects people and the planet by learning about some of our key fights.

Expert Blogs

Hear from our policy advocates, scientists, and litigators about the challenges and solutions for building a healthier and more just world.

Viewing 41 - 60 of 126

Smart from Start to Finish

Expert BlogCaliforniaHelen O'Shea
On a windy, bright day in Lemoore, California, another 250 megawatts of clean power was added to California’s energy mix with the dedication of the Aquamarine Solar Project.

Diablo Canyon Redux: Joint Letter to CA Governor Misfires

Expert BlogCalifornia, WestRalph Cavanagh
NRDC hopes that those who submitted the letter will join us and many others in supporting much more affordable and practicable approaches to decarbonizing California’s economy.

California’s Rooftop Solar Net Metering Program

Expert BlogCaliforniaNRDC
California is in the midst of seeking input from stakeholders, through a California Public Utilities Commission process, to evolve its approach to its net metering rooftop solar program in a manner that accounts for emerging needs and market trends.

California's Net Metering Reform: Necessary, Accurate, Fair

Expert BlogCaliforniaMohit Chhabra

The CPUC’s Proposed Decision, if adopted, it would institute significant reforms to the Commission’s net metering (NEM) rate for residential customers with rooftop solar. This proposed decision is the culmination of a year-long proceeding at the CPUC.

Tenant Protections, Good Jobs Key to Decarbonizing Buildings

Expert BlogLos Angeles, CaliforniaMichele Knab Hasson, Merrian Borgeson

In Los Angeles, buildings are the top source of carbon pollution, and the city is taking bold steps to end these harmful emissions completely by 2050. As city leaders and other stakeholders consider how to achieve these emissions reductions equitably…

Should CA Seek Another Life Extension for Diablo Canyon?

Expert BlogUnited States, CaliforniaRalph Cavanagh

In an op-ed calling for the nuclear power plant’s operating license to be extended past 2025, Steven Chu and Ernest Moniz acknowledge that the process would be “complex.” It wouldn’t just be complex; it would be hugely expensive and wrong.

A Four Point Guide to California's Net Metering Update

Expert BlogCaliforniaMohit Chhabra, Julia de Lamare, Merrian Borgeson

What should rooftop solar customers be paid for the electricity they generate, and how should the costs of the electric system that we all depend on be shared among customers with and without rooftop solar?

LA Must Tackle Clean Buildings & Affordable Housing Together

Expert BlogLos Angeles, CaliforniaStefan Schaffer, Michele Knab Hasson, Megan Ross

Currently, LA’s building stock is responsible for 43% of the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions. A recent report dives deep into the complex relationship between getting fossil fuels out of buildings and creating and preserving affordable housing in Los Angeles…

A Chance to Coordinate on Offshore Wind

Expert BlogNew York, New Jersey, EastCullen Howe

Offshore wind energy is essential for transitioning the grid to a clean energy future. Recognizing this reality, coastal states such as New York and New Jersey are working to add more offshore wind to their energy mix but have not…

Accelerating Transformation to All-Electric Buildings in NY

Expert BlogNew YorkSamantha Wilt

The landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s (CLCPA) ambitious goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85% by 2050 will require a transformation of the power, transportation and building sectors.

California Enacts Plan for Smart Offshore Wind Development

Expert BlogCaliforniaSandy Aylesworth, Mohit Chhabra

When AB 525 became law last month, California set the standard for floating offshore wind energy development in the United States. The law requires California to develop offshore wind in a way that creates good jobs, protects California's unparalleled marine…

California’s NEM 3.0 Must Grow Rooftop Solar Sustainably

Expert BlogCaliforniaJulia de Lamare, Mohit Chhabra

One of the foremost challenges that the California Public Utilities Commission faces in developing a new net energy metering policy, called NEM 3.0, is to ensure that rooftop solar continues to grow sustainably in California as required by law.

The West Coast: Carbon Free by 2045 . . . or Earlier

Expert BlogWest, California, Oregon, WashingtonRalph Cavanagh

HB 2021, Oregon’s “100% Clean Electricity” bill just approved by the legislature and sent to Governor Brown’s desk for signing, aligns with New York for the most aggressive state clean electricity goal in the country—zero greenhouse gas emissions in the…

NY Needs Gas Utility Planning for Equitable Clean Energy Transition

Expert BlogNew YorkChristopher Casey

In recently filed comments and reply comments, NRDC together with Sierra Club, the Regional Plan Association, Association for Energy Affordability, and New Yorkers for Clean Power presented a vision for a gas system planning process to identify the lowest-cost, least-risk…

It’s Time to End Subsidies for New Gas Hook-Ups

Expert BlogCaliforniaMerrian Borgeson

California utility customers contribute over $100 million every year to subsidize gas connections for new customers. But it doesn’t make sense to keep extending gas pipelines as California moves away from using fossil fuels that add to the climate problem…

Ocean Wind Becomes California’s Future Power

Expert BlogCaliforniaSandy Aylesworth, Mohit Chhabra

Department of Interior advances leasing for offshore wind energy development in California offshore waters, ending years-long impasse with the Department of Defense.