News & Commentary

Winter Storm Elliott Report Highlights the Risk of Natural Gas Failures

July 20, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, East, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, TexasDana Ammann

PJM’s report on Winter Storm Elliott found that gas generators were responsible for 70 percent of forced outages during December 2022. Climate change will only intensify future severe weather. 

Rate Increases and Blackouts: Duke Energy’s Strategy for 2023

April 6, 2023 Expert BlogNorth Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, EastLuis Martinez

Duke failed to keep the lights on last December, but it is now pursuing enormous rate increases of more than 30 percent to help pay for fossil fuels and huge executive salary raises.

US Faith Leader to Visit UK, Urging: Cut Carbon Not Forests

February 2, 2023 Expert BlogInternational, South CarolinaElly Pepper

"Instead of harming vulnerable communities of color in the U.S., the U.K. should be rapidly shifting to secure, cheap, clean renewable energy like wind and solar.”

Equitable Building Decarbonization Across the Country: 2022

December 14, 2022 Expert BlogCalifornia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, OregonCaroline Keicher, Joe O'Brien-Applegate

Policies and programs aimed at new construction and existing buildings continue to gain traction as communities and elected officials realize the feasibility and benefits of ambitious and equity-centered action.

Beyond Pledges: Solidifying Climate Action in Latin America

November 17, 2022 Expert BlogBrazil, Mexico, Colombia, InternationalMarilyn Kunce

Climate change and associated extreme events are amplifying factors in migration and displacement while exacerbating social, economic, and environmental burdens. Latin America is among the regions with the greatest documented need for the strengthening of early warning systems.

Dispatch from South America: MUFPP and C40 Conferences

November 15, 2022 Expert BlogBrazil, Argentina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Washington, D.C.Yvette Cabrera, Madeline Keating

World Ozone Day: What The Ozone Treaty Does for Climate

September 15, 2022 Expert BlogMontreal, InternationalDavid Doniger

The Montreal Protocol does more than save the ozone layer -- it's a double bonus for climate protection. Next stop: Ratifying the Kigali HFC Phasedown.

NRDC Inflation Reduction Act Ad Campaign

August 17, 2022 Expert BlogCalifornia, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, WashingtonTimothy Edland

The campaign in 15 states and 14 congressional districts will educate the public about the Inflation Reduction Act and thank key senators and members of Congress for their support.

Honolulu Benchmarking Will Cut Costs, Save Energy and Water

July 6, 2022 Expert BlogHonolulu, HawaiiElizabeth Stampe, Olivia Walker

Honolulu’s City Council passes a benchmarking and transparency ordinance to help building owners cut costs by tracking their energy and water use, enabling them to save money and resources while reducing emissions.

Hariyali Green Villages: Women Lead Climate Solutions

June 14, 2022 Expert BlogIndia, Gujarat, RajasthanCharlotte Steiner, Sameer Kwatra

NRDC, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), and partners have implemented the transformative Hariyali Green Villages initiative in 15 villages in Gujarat and Rajasthan over the past year. 

Will Hawai‘i Show the Rest of the Nation the Way to Clean Up the Power Sector?

September 16, 2021 DispatchHawaiiD. W. Gibson

To help achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2045, the state’s electric utilities now need to take up climate action if they want to turn a profit.

A Native Hawaiian Digs into Her Roots to Grow Food, Knowledge, and Hope

May 18, 2021 DispatchHawaiiJeff Turrentine

Inspired by an ancient system of natural resource management, Kukui Maunakea-Forth works with her community to turn Oʻahu youth into farmers—and scholars.

Latin America at the Leaders Summit on Climate

April 23, 2021 Expert BlogArgentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, MexicoCarolina Herrera, Jessica Carey-Webb, Marilyn Kunce, Amanda Maxwell

The five Latin American countries that participated in the Leaders Summit on Climate – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico – displayed a broad range of ambition. Once again, some countries demonstrated their willingness to be climate action leaders while…

US Climate Finance Plan Restricts Fossil Fuel Finance

April 23, 2021 Expert BlogUnited States, BrazilJake Schmidt, Han Chen

This is a clear signal the United States will move away from financing coal, oil and gas projects overseas. Now is the time to make sure the details deliver on that necessary drive to urgently shift public financing from dirty…

Brazil’s Bolsonaro Shows Little Progress at Climate Summit

April 23, 2021 Expert BlogBrazilJessica Carey-Webb

Brazil, home to some of the most globally important ecosystems, failed to demonstrate leadership and doubled down on weak goals during the Leaders Climate Summit.

Brazil LNG Expansion Undermines Decarbonization

April 16, 2021 Expert BlogBrazil, United StatesHan Chen, Jessica Carey-Webb

Beyond jeopardizing the energy transition and crowding out renewable energy development in Brazil, the recent introduction of LNG in the Brazilian energy mix will create unnecessary technological lock-in. The U.S. should both discourage these developments and support the deployment of…

Evidence Mounts in P&G’s Role in Degrading Intact Forests

April 7, 2021 Expert BlogOntario, Quebec, CanadaAshley Jordan, Shelley Vinyard

A new NRDC analysis of Canadian logging companies supplying boreal pulp to the U.S. marketplace is showing just how toilet paper-thin Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) latest claims of sustainability are.

Honolulu Charts a Path Away from Fossil Fuels

March 2, 2021 DispatchHawaii, HonoluluCourtney Lindwall

As part of the American Cities Climate Challenge, a coalition of climate advocates just helped pass a series of bills that will curb emissions and rein in Honolulu’s sky-high cost of living at once.

Honolulu's New Climate Laws Will Save Energy and Money

December 23, 2020 Expert BlogHonolulu, HawaiiElizabeth Stampe

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell today signed a long-awaited package of climate legislation that will help reduce carbon emissions and save money for residents and the City.

Latin America’s 2020 Climate Leaders and Laggards

December 21, 2020 Expert BlogInternational, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, BrazilAmanda Maxwell, Carolina Herrera, Jessica Carey-Webb, Marilyn Kunce

2020 was a turbulent year in Latin America—and a mixed bag on climate action. It will be important for the incoming Biden-Harris administration to put climate change front and center in its engagement with the region.