January 7, 2025, 2:00 – 3:30pm
ONLINE
Bridging the Gap: How Emerging State Policies are Making Energy Storage More Affordable and Accessible
Energy storage will play a key role in the transition to renewable energy, and it’s important that its benefits are accessible to all. Underserved communities are historically the most negatively impacted by severe weather events associated with climate change and air pollution from fossil-fuel burning plants disproportionately located in these communities. Without affordable and accessible programs and policies, these communities will continue to face many barriers in adopting clean energy technologies such as energy storage.
A recent report, jointly published by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) and Sandia National Laboratories, highlights emerging strategies used by the leading states to advance energy storage adoption in underserved and low-income communities. While the challenges are daunting, early results from at least some of these programs show that positive results can be achieved when states adopt a focused and long-term commitment. Read the report here: www.cesa.org/resource-library/resource/bridging-the-gap-state-policies-making-energy-storage-accessible
In this webinar, report authors Todd Olinsky-Paul (Senior Project Director, CESA) and Will McNamara (Energy Storage Policy Analyst, Sandia National Labs) will discuss the emerging practices and lessons learned from states. Elischia Fludd (Environmental Justice Senior Lead, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources) joins to discuss relevant provisions in Massachusetts programs. Additionally, Broderick Bagert (Organizer, Together New Orleans) joins to discuss the Community Lighthouse Project, an initiative that has created a network of resilient, solar-powered community resilience hubs for communities to access in the wake of hurricanes or other disasters.
January 28, 2025, 7:00 pm
ONLINE
Methane Pipelines, Climate Change & What Comes Next
Join the Stop Project Maple Coalition for a special webinar with Bill McKibben, titled Methane Pipelines, Climate Change, & What Comes Next.
Across New England and the United States, the extraction, transportation, and burning of fossil fuels continues to increase even as it destroys our climate.
Project Maple is the proposed expansion of a methane pipeline in NY, CT, RI, and MA. If allowed to move forward, it would continue to tie our region to dirty fossil fuels, raise energy ratepayer rates, pollute the air of our communities, and prevent our states from meeting their climate goals. We will not let this project move forward. Instead, we call on the leadership of our states to stop approving the enlargement of methane infrastructure, end methane subsidies, and support clean energy technologies.
Join our webinar on January 28th at 7pm to hear from Bill McKibben, who is a renowned author and the founder of Third Act, an organization focused on organizing people over the age of 60 for climate action. In addition, learn more about Project Maple and hear from Dr. Sandra Steingraber, New York biologist and author, and local organizers.
February 4-5, 2025, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center
100 Academy Way
Irvine CA 92617 and ONLINE
National Practice Forum on Nature-Based Solutions
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), the Network for Engineering With Nature (N-EWN), and the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Center for Coastal Climate Resilience is convening a national forum focused on the practice of nature-based solutions. The two-day event will be held February 4-5, 2025, at the National Academies’ Beckman Center in Irvine, California.
The forum will bring together national leaders and practitioners to discuss innovations in the application of nature-based solutions (NBS) for hazard mitigation and climate adaptation. Discussions will focus on overcoming challenges in scaling NBS and finding collaborative, equitable solutions. The forum follows the 2024 N-EWN National Policy Forum at NAS in DC.
Forum objectives include:
- Strengthen partnerships to accelerate the pace of NBS implementation
- Showcase full-scale implementation of nature-based solutions and lessons learned
- Promote equity and justice in hazard mitigation and adaptation projects
- Identify challenges and opportunities to meet objectives for risk reduction and conservation