Coming Back Stronger

RMI and Bloomberg Philanthropies report outlining infrastructure policies and investments for cities to promote recovery and build a better future.

How Congress Can Accelerate Zero-Emissions Homes

The Biden administration has set an ambitious goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions at least in half by 2030 to help avoid the worst impacts of climate disruption. As a result, 2021 may be the year the federal government finally acts to curb one of the largest sources of those emissions: the gas used for space and water heating and cooking in millions of buildings across the country.

Getting Climate Policy Right in the Infrastructure Bills

The current infrastructure bills being crafted and debated in Washington, D.C. could not come at a more dramatic time. Across the United States we are seeing heat records shattered, supercharged wildfires, mass die-offs of sea creatures, and flooding in cities. Fittingly, these infrastructure packages would represent the largest US investments…

Climate Mayors Green and Equitable Recovery

Six Innovative Funding Methods to Achieve Climate Action and Equity in US Cities

Climate change and pollution disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, Latino, and low-income communities. As cities increasingly recognize that climate action can deliver multiple benefits, they are finding innovative funding methods to simultaneously address inequity and climate.

The US Needs Urgent Federal Climate Policy—RMI Has Some Ideas

Climate action is back on the federal agenda in the United States. We’ve seen President Biden take executive action to tackle the climate crisis, rightfully linking it to job creation, environmental justice, and strengthening America’s infrastructure. We’ve…

Signs of Hope for US Federal Climate Action in 2021

As we enthusiastically bid 2020 farewell, for many reasons 2021 is starting to feel like a year to be hopeful. While the roll-out of vaccines signal an impending slow-down to the pandemic, recent activity in DC is offering a similar glimpse to solutions on the horizon for the climate crisis.

3 Ways Cities Can Build Back Better through Green Recovery

As we approach the fourth month of the pandemic, cities across the United States continue to be hit hard. I recently spoke with mayors who are being asked to simultaneously manage unprecedented public health challenges, a rise of social unrest, increased unemployment, and a looming housing crisis, on top of…

US City Stimulus

The report recommends five strategies that Congress could use to direct stimulus investment toward helping cities recover and build back better from the dual challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn.

Six Key Policies for Cutting Emissions in the Latest Climate Bill

Last Tuesday, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released its Climate Crisis Action Plan report, which maps a comprehensive federal response to climate change. Many of these ideas are included in the “Moving Forward Act” (H.R.2) that passed the House last Thursday and now goes to…

Zero-Energy Homes: Tunneling Through the (Electrification) Cost Barrier in Cold Climates

A decade ago, the prevailing wisdom held that all-electric buildings presented many challenges: they were served by dirty coal instead of cleaner natural gas, they struggled to meet temperature setpoints in cold climates, and they drastically increased utility bills. Why then this big push toward electrification? Simply put, electrification is…