Insights

  • Blog 3D paper art showing a book opening up into a colorful mountain scene

    What's the Story? Why the Way You Talk about Climate Matters

    Strategic communication is a necessary component for reaching our climate goals. But communicating about the climate crisis presents some unique challenges. Stories offer a familiar framework for new information, making it more memorable and easier to digest.

  • Blog A botanical-inspired illustration of a woman sitting in a hammock reading a book with the State Impact Center logo on it

    Vacation Mode: Unlocked

    It’s that time of year! The temperature is heating up, schedules are simmering down (hah!), and your long summer afternoons are just waiting to be filled with ways to learn about the latest climate, clean energy, and environmental topics. We’ve got you covered with reading, listening, and watching recommendations for your summer!

  • Blog A glass globe sits on a table in a modern office; the globe depicts a green, nature-filled city.

    Empowering Consumers, Encouraging Competition, Yet…Eliciting Claims of Antitrust Violations?

    ESG has been all over the news lately as companies consider how to empower consumers to make informed choices. Recently, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser spoke out against efforts to put a stop to these “pro-competitive, pro-consumer” practices.

  • Blog A cut-out collage depicting planet earth, a group of high schoolers, smokestacks, grass, water, lady justice, and the complaint from Genesis B v. EPA

    A Different Kind of Class: Children Seek Equally Protected Futures

    Youth across the globe are increasingly speaking out about climate change and its impacts on their lives. In a new suit, young plaintiffs seek a judicial declaration that the U.S. government has denied them equal protection of the law by allowing life-threatening levels of fossil fuel climate pollution in ways that deliberately discriminate against children.

  • Blog A black and white photo of residential buildings surrounding a transmission tower

    A Full Trip Around the Sun, Yet EJ Remains Eclipsed at FERC

    Exactly one year after FERC held its Roundtable on Environmental Justice and Equity in Infrastructure Permitting, the D.C. Circuit issued a decision affirming FERC’s broad authority in pipeline matters. This year, there are more vacancies on the Commission, and pushing for EJ reforms remains crucial.

  • Blog A road viewed from the ground, with yellow lane dividers extending into the distance, meeting a row of five stacks of coins at the horizon, arranged from shortest to tallest

    DOL Paves the Road Green for Retirement

    The Department of Labor has just released a finalized rule around its Investment Duties regulation in order to clarify how Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)-regulated fiduciaries can take into consideration climate and environmental, social, governance (ESG) issues.

  • Blog A patchwork illustration of a wind turbine

    Leading the Clean Energy Charge: Spotlight on State AGs

    When it comes to the future of a clean energy grid, it might be surprising to learn that state attorneys general play a big role at both the state and federal levels. But it’s true. Regardless of who is leading the Department of Energy or Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, for years, states have played an important role, and recent examples prove this yet again.

  • Blog An illustration of the electric grid

    Easy as Pi: Regulating for the Grid of the Future

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is poised to take action this spring on transmission reform – reforms that are needed so that new energy sources make it to the grid and to meet growing demand. FERC’s Chairman Willie Phillips has said the reforms are in their “final lap.” It is time to get back up to speed.

  • Blog A continuous line drawing of a pipeline

    Looking (at Climate Impacts) Before Leaping (to Expand a Pipeline)

    In two weeks, the D.C. Circuit will hear oral argument on a controversial natural gas pipeline project which is supposed to add 36 miles of new pipeline, as well as infrastructure, in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. Here is a rundown of the arguments before the court.

  • Blog A sprout on a stack of coins

    Investor Transparency and Shareholder Opportunity Go Together Like E, S, and G

    Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices at corporations have been making headlines and fueling a vigorous debate along with new lawsuits. Two recent podcasts from Recharged with the State Impact Center highlight some of the emerging themes.

  • Blog A court building casting a shadow behind a veil of smog

    Six More Weeks of...Smog? The Court’s Shadow Docket Takes on a Case About Ozone

    This Groundhog Day, there’s another shadow (docket) you need to keep your eye on. In a few weeks, the Supreme Court will consider a case about EPA’s recent rule regarding air pollution that crosses state borders. The impact of the new Court and its decision to hear oral argument on the shadow docket are both interesting features to watch in this case.

  • Blog A watercolor illustration of plastic litter

    Beware of the Plastics...and of the Companies Creating the Problem

    What do you think when you see trash in the river or on the side of the road? Do you think: I wish someone would clean that up? Now, New York State is working to give folks a new way to look at that trash.