insight
How Fossils Move to Block Local Climate Action
RMI’s insight brief on state pre-emption of local clean energy and electrification policies: how communities are harmed & who is behind these laws.
Rushad Nanavatty leads RMI’s Urban Transformation program, focused on helping cities around the world simultaneously reduce emissions, enhance urban livability, increase resilience, and advance social equity. The Urban Transformation program offers cities targeted technical assistance, capacity building, analytical capabilities, and facilitation support to help them turn their climate and environmental justice commitments to action.
At RMI, Rushad also helped establish and lead the Global Cooling Prize, a global innovation competition to develop a climate-friendly residential cooling solution, and the Energy Web Foundation (EWF). The EWF, a partnership between RMI and Grid Singularity, develops promising applications for blockchain technology in the energy sector.
Background
Prior to joining RMI, Rushad served as the founding COO of WeGen Energy, a startup developing off-grid energy solutions and virtual power plants in the Philippines and Vietnam, utilizing a mix of distributed solar and battery energy storage.
Before WeGen, Rushad spent six years at McKinsey & Company as a member of the firm’s sustainability, infrastructure, and private equity practices, working on projects across Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Education
M.A., School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University
B.A., St. Stephens College at the University of Delhi
Location
Washington, DC
Authored Works
Blog
HB6 Is a Terrible Deal for Ohio
In the summer of 2019, Ohio lawmakers passed House Bill 6, a multifaceted piece of legislation that could shape the regional energy landscape for a generation. It was quickly lambasted as “the worst energy bill of the 21st century.” Key provisions included: A bailout for two nuclear plants, which…
insight
Primer for Space Cooling
insight
Breathing Life Back into Cities
Blog
Four Lessons from RBG for the Climate Fight
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a hero. The obituaries have focused on her legacy as a feminist icon, her singular determination, her deep humanity, and her profound common sense. These traits were exemplified by her famous dissents—equal parts restrained and biting—against a series of regressive Supreme Court majority decisions. We don’t…
insight
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.
Blog
How COVID-19 Is Pushing Cities to Change Solar Permitting for the Better
In order to meet social distancing requirements brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, cities across the United States are moving permitting services, including solar, online. The International Code Council (ICC) recently surveyed its members and found that 65 percent of local code permitting officials have moved to remote work…
Blog
Adapting to Fire: How Cities Can Enhance Resilience with Distributed Energy
As California experienced uncharacteristically low precipitation in February, normally its peak rainy season, parts of the state are moving into drought conditions. This is likely to increase wildfire prevalence in the state in 2020, and it underscores the point that communities need to be thinking about a range of…
Blog
Our Climate as an Infrastructure Asset
Our climate is getting plenty of attention, but we don’t often view it as infrastructure. We should. The global climate comprises an essential and massive part of the natural systems that form the foundation for our world and our society. Our economy is built on assumptions about climate stability. Our…