Updated U.S. climate pledge is achievable with stable policy, Ceres says

Ceres Senior Director of Federal Policy Zach Friedman issued the following statement after the United States updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) toward global efforts to limit temperature increases from reaching catastrophic levels, pledging to achieve a 61-66% reduction in climate pollution by 2035.  “Ceres applauds the U.S. for putting forward an ambitious, yet fully achievable, NDC that will position the country to capitalize on the private-sector momentum to build and deploy affordable, reliable, abundant American-made clean technologies and solutions.   “As nations around the world press to reduce pollution…

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New scorecard demonstrates federal financial regulators’ progress in addressing climate risk

A new scorecard released recently shows how 10 federal financial regulators have implemented hundreds of actions in the last 18 months to address the systemic financial risks of climate change. However, U.S. regulators have much more work to do to address these risks as the frequency and severity of weather disasters continue to increase.   The 2024 Climate Risk Scorecard: Assessing U.S. Financial Regulator Action on Climate Financial Risk found most of the assessed regulators have made meaningful strides in producing research and data on climate risk and incorporating these risks…

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New guidance offers a roadmap for the U.S. insurance industry to build resilience amid increasing climate disasters

Ceres released comprehensive guidance to help the U.S. insurance industry reimagine its future in a climate-changing world, offering a clear roadmap for maintaining insurance availability, affordability and the industry’s long-term health amid escalating and costly climate disasters.   The severity and frequency of record-breaking hurricanes, wildfires, and other unnatural catastrophes continues to destroy entire communities and economies. The U.S. faced $92 billion in economic damages in 2023, and 2024, already predicted to be the warmest on record, faces $100 billion in losses, with Hurricanes Milton and Helene expected to cost…

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New benchmarking report finds carbon emissions from the U.S. power sector saw an accelerated downward trend in 2023

Due to a decline in coal use, the U.S. power sector saw an 8% reduction in carbon emissions in 2023, according to a new analysis of air emissions for the country’s top 100 power producers released recently.   While this decrease is a significant improvement over the marginal reduction of less than 1% in carbon emissions in 2022, 2023 emissions were only 2% lower than 2020 levels due to a surge in natural gas generation.  The analysis titled, Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the…

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Massachusetts climate, cleantech legislation will accelerate clean energy buildout

Ceres applauds the final passage of two important bills that will bolster Massachusetts’ role as a climate and clean energy leader while supporting the state economy. The Massachusetts omnibus climate bill includes essential reforms to state permitting and siting procedures to responsibly accelerate the buildout of clean energy infrastructure while boosting investment into clean power, transportation, and buildings. Separately, the Commonwealth’s new economic development bond bill includes a significant investment over the next decade to foster the emerging cleantech industry. “Massachusetts boasts a powerful combination of private sector ingenuity, a…

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