Events

RMI is a community partner for VERGE Net Zero, a complimentary online event that provides a deep dives and how-to guides on the best approaches for accelerating net-zero transitions for companies. Register to participate live in dozens of inspiring and provocative keynote sessions and panel discussions — and watch content on-demand, after the event. RMI’s Josh Henretig and Nicole Labutong will speak at VERGE Net Zero in December.

Governments and companies are acknowledging and acting on climate change like never before, offering hope that major economies have set their sights on a clean energy future. With this shift, what’s possible? The conceptual phase of the clean energy transition is over, and we can make this the decade we turn the tide on climate change. RMI must inspire the world to act faster, and our innovative experts are all in. Join our new CEO, Jon Creyts, and three emerging RMI leaders to hear how we can accelerate our clean energy future by acting on one of our core convictions: Hope, Applied.

Three Emerging Speakers:

• Rizky Fauzianto is the senior energy transition coordinator for Southeast Asia on RMI’s Global South team. He has been central to the recently launched Just Energy Transition Partnership that will help transition Indonesia from coal to renewables.
• Mahlet Eyassu Melkie is a senior associate with RMI’s Climate Finance Access Network. Her deep experience in international climate negotiations has helped support least-developed countries — especially in Africa — to establish ambitious global climate targets.
• Rose Wang is a manager on RMI’s Climate Intelligence team. She led the release of the new Oil Climate Index plus Gas tool, which quantifies GHG emissions from global oil and gas so that investors, policymakers, and the public can make informed choices.

The funding coming available through IRA and IIJA will be instrumental in helping cities meet clean electricity goals, but the number of opportunities may be overwhelming, and cities don’t know where to start or what projects and funding streams are most relevant. Enter the Local Energy Action Framework. Over the past year the City Renewables Accelerator team, with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, has worked with six U.S. cities & counties to create a model that demonstrates how different energy actions influence and interact with each other & provides a more integrated picture of the set of solutions that cities can use to meet their municipal energy goals. Some questions that we will answer during this webinar:

• Which sector or facility should municipalities prioritize in decarbonization efforts?
• Which energy action is the most impactful and should be focused on first?
• How will energy actions impact daily load curves and how can we mitigate the impacts by smartly implementing demand flexibility strategies?
• What are some federal funding opportunities that can support our energy action priorities?

During the webinar we will walk you through the steps of the framework and highlight specific insights & trends from our six cities that could be helpful in your own climate action planning & identifying energy projects for federal funding opportunities. We will also be joined by a panel of cohort members from Cincinnati and Miami Dade County who will share their lessons learned and how they are utilizing the insights in their day-to-day work.

To assist policymakers, advocates, and regulators in their efforts to equitably decarbonize the grid, RMI has released a series of issue briefs focusing on PUC modernization in the face of expanding policy priorities. The series explored three dimensions of PUC modernization: the role of PUCs in the context of an increasingly complex energy system, changes needed to align internal organizations to match evolving industry needs, and regulatory process design changes to support a rapid, equitable shift to a carbon-free electric grid.

This webinar will focus on RMI’s insight brief, Regulatory Process Design for Decarbonization, Equity, and Innovation and feature practical examples from panelists with experience at the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, Illinois Commerce Commission, and Arkansas Public Service Commission. They will share changes in their regulatory processes designed to increase energy equity, accelerate grid and customer decarbonization, or enhance stakeholder engagement.

Join RMI for a 1-hour webinar to hear an overview of the report findings and a panel discussion on innovative regulatory process improvements to unlock solutions for equitable decarbonization

Join RMI experts Matthew Popkin and Ryan Warsing alongside experts from World Resources Institute for part five of our learning series highlighting how cities can position themselves to take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act grant programs, new IRS provisions, and direct pay models to advance community-wide clean energy adoption. The first four sessions in the learning series have focused on helping local governments and community partners understand, navigate, and pursue federal funding opportunities that can advance ambitious local climate action and resilience projects. This webinar will focus on how cities’ clean energy projects can “stack” IRS tax provisions and utilize direct pay models to fully take advantage of a new and improved economic landscape enabled by the Inflation Reduction Act.