Causes: Energy Resources Conservation & Development, Environment, Natural Resources Conservation & Protection, Pollution Abatement & Control
Mission:
EESI advances science-based solutions for climate change, energy, and environmental challenges in order to achieve our vision of a sustainable, resilient, and equitable world.
EESI’s accomplishments in the past year have been numerous including providing policymakers and the public with key information about the international climate summit in Glasgow (COP26) and publishing key environmental information to more than one million web visitors for the first time ever. Additionally, we partnered with the NAACP to develop Equitable Solar Policy Principles, to expand access to solar energy, and launched the Future Climate Leaders Scholarship as part of EESI's commitment to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. We published an interactive climate solutions by state map, a valuable tool to learn about vital environmental issues in each state, and have launched a new Beneficial Electrification Toolkit, which provides a roadmap for utilities and their customers.
Results:
EESI's influence can be seen in our successful impact on many federal policy initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen our resilience to the climate impacts we are already feeling. Our work spans energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable mobility, better buildings, and community resilience. Thousands depend on our briefings/livecasts, factsheets, and technical assistance to reinforce and implement winning, workable solutions to climate change. With so much bad news about climate change pummeling us, we wanted to highlight more solutions. This year, we launched our new email newsletter, Climate Change Solutions. The biweekly publication also tracks federal policy related to climate. Our factsheets, issue briefs, and other materials are often used by media professionals, policymakers, educators, and other groups to educate their members, develop strategies, and understand complex situations. We’ve also expanded our use of video. Our recent top accomplishments include:
1.Helping South Carolina electric cooperatives obtain a zero-interest federal loan for $13 million to make low- and moderate-income households more energy efficient.
2.Spreading strategies for the development and/or improvement of on-bill financing and electrification programs.
3.Playing an active role in the passage of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA), an important reform that makes it easier for communities to prepare for disasters, and to rebuild better after they have been struck.
4.Setting the stage for passage of the PREPARE Act, which coordinates extreme weather preparedness across the federal government.
5.Engaging with Congressional offices and the broader policymaking community on efforts to promote climate resilience across the United States.
6.Showcasing the importance of federal energy and housing programs for low-income families
7.Holding Congressional briefings to help advocate for the Farm Bill’s renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmental conservation provisions
8.Raising awareness of the Administration's efforts to avoid releasing public transit funds that had been appropriated by Congress in 2017 and 2018.Projects that were being deprived of resources were in many cities around the country including Dallas, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New York, and Minneapolis.
9.Examining the promise of battery electric buses, inspiring media attention and policymakers.
10.Emphasizing the national security impacts of climate change.
Target demographics:
1) Policy community: One primary target audience is the federal policymaking community, including Congressional staff and federal agencies. We want to reach Democrats, Republicans, and independents, so our outreach must be tailored to different concerns.
2) General Public: In addition to the policy community, EESI aims to serve the general public by making accurate, actionable information on climate problems and solutions widely available.
3) Utilities: EESI works nationwide to support electric cooperatives and green banks to develop inclusive on-bill financing and beneficial electrification programs for their members or customers to afford energy upgrades. Through this, we indirectly help households and small businesses -- especially lower-income homeowners or renters who are unable to take advantage of rebates or grants -- reduce their overall energy costs and cut emissions.
Geographic areas served:
Nationwide
Programs:
Federal Climate Policy Program
EESI is a nonpartisan policy institution. It fills a critical need: turning complex concepts into accessible information, inviting decision makers from both sides of the aisle to ask questions, and finding solutions to climate change, the most urgent threat facing the world today. We work to curb climate change by advancing all forms of renewable energy and energy efficiency and increase resilience to current and future climate impacts in an equitable way. It is crucial for our country to understand the economic and human costs of climate change that climate-vulnerable communities bear, and how to reduce those through advancing resilience measures and mitigating emissions.
We engage with policymakers about how coordinating for extreme weather preparedness across the federal government and supporting regional, state, and local action can help assess vulnerabilities and implement cost-effective resilience strategies. Taking action to ensure that buildings and other infrastructure can better withstand disasters will save lives and money.
Access Clean Energy Savings Program
EESI develops clean energy opportunities for communities through the Access Clean Energy Savings Program. "On-bill financing" gives small utilities--electric cooperatives and municipal utilities—the capacity to offer their customers the ability to finance energy improvements that are then repaid over time on their energy bills, reducing their overall payments and freeing up cash flow for other needs.
Creating a Talent Pipeline with the Richard L. Ottinger Internship Program
EESI’s paid internship program provides interns with substantive experiences that help them start careers in climate change policy, federal government leadership, advocacy groups, and forward-thinking businesses. Interns gain insight into the workings of Congress and the federal legislative process, knowledge of significant environmental and energy issues, and an understanding of how a nonprofit works. Interns play an integral role at EESI; many former interns tell EESI that the internship was critical to launching their career in the environmental sector. During the pandemic, EESI has continued its intern program, transitioning it to a remote internship experience. EESI is building relationships with Washington, DC area schools that are at least as diverse as the country’s student population, as part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative.
Mission:
EESI advances science-based solutions for climate change, energy, and environmental challenges in order to achieve our vision of a sustainable, resilient, and equitable world.
EESI’s accomplishments in the past year have been numerous including providing policymakers and the public with key information about the international climate summit in Glasgow (COP26) and publishing key environmental information to more than one million web visitors for the first time ever. Additionally, we partnered with the NAACP to develop Equitable Solar Policy Principles, to expand access to solar energy, and launched the Future Climate Leaders Scholarship as part of EESI's commitment to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. We published an interactive climate solutions by state map, a valuable tool to learn about vital environmental issues in each state, and have launched a new Beneficial Electrification Toolkit, which provides a roadmap for utilities and their customers.
Results:
EESI's influence can be seen in our successful impact on many federal policy initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen our resilience to the climate impacts we are already feeling. Our work spans energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable mobility, better buildings, and community resilience. Thousands depend on our briefings/livecasts, factsheets, and technical assistance to reinforce and implement winning, workable solutions to climate change. With so much bad news about climate change pummeling us, we wanted to highlight more solutions. This year, we launched our new email newsletter, Climate Change Solutions. The biweekly publication also tracks federal policy related to climate. Our factsheets, issue briefs, and other materials are often used by media professionals, policymakers, educators, and other groups to educate their members, develop strategies, and understand complex situations. We’ve also expanded our use of video. Our recent top accomplishments include:
1.Helping South Carolina electric cooperatives obtain a zero-interest federal loan for $13 million to make low- and moderate-income households more energy efficient.
2.Spreading strategies for the development and/or improvement of on-bill financing and electrification programs.
3.Playing an active role in the passage of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA), an important reform that makes it easier for communities to prepare for disasters, and to rebuild better after they have been struck.
4.Setting the stage for passage of the PREPARE Act, which coordinates extreme weather preparedness across the federal government.
5.Engaging with Congressional offices and the broader policymaking community on efforts to promote climate resilience across the United States.
6.Showcasing the importance of federal energy and housing programs for low-income families
7.Holding Congressional briefings to help advocate for the Farm Bill’s renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmental conservation provisions
8.Raising awareness of the Administration's efforts to avoid releasing public transit funds that had been appropriated by Congress in 2017 and 2018.Projects that were being deprived of resources were in many cities around the country including Dallas, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New York, and Minneapolis.
9.Examining the promise of battery electric buses, inspiring media attention and policymakers.
10.Emphasizing the national security impacts of climate change.
Target demographics:
1) Policy community: One primary target audience is the federal policymaking community, including Congressional staff and federal agencies. We want to reach Democrats, Republicans, and independents, so our outreach must be tailored to different concerns.
2) General Public: In addition to the policy community, EESI aims to serve the general public by making accurate, actionable information on climate problems and solutions widely available.
3) Utilities: EESI works nationwide to support electric cooperatives and green banks to develop inclusive on-bill financing and beneficial electrification programs for their members or customers to afford energy upgrades. Through this, we indirectly help households and small businesses -- especially lower-income homeowners or renters who are unable to take advantage of rebates or grants -- reduce their overall energy costs and cut emissions.
Geographic areas served:
Nationwide
Programs:
Federal Climate Policy Program
EESI is a nonpartisan policy institution. It fills a critical need: turning complex concepts into accessible information, inviting decision makers from both sides of the aisle to ask questions, and finding solutions to climate change, the most urgent threat facing the world today. We work to curb climate change by advancing all forms of renewable energy and energy efficiency and increase resilience to current and future climate impacts in an equitable way. It is crucial for our country to understand the economic and human costs of climate change that climate-vulnerable communities bear, and how to reduce those through advancing resilience measures and mitigating emissions.
We engage with policymakers about how coordinating for extreme weather preparedness across the federal government and supporting regional, state, and local action can help assess vulnerabilities and implement cost-effective resilience strategies. Taking action to ensure that buildings and other infrastructure can better withstand disasters will save lives and money.
Access Clean Energy Savings Program
EESI develops clean energy opportunities for communities through the Access Clean Energy Savings Program. "On-bill financing" gives small utilities--electric cooperatives and municipal utilities—the capacity to offer their customers the ability to finance energy improvements that are then repaid over time on their energy bills, reducing their overall payments and freeing up cash flow for other needs.
Creating a Talent Pipeline with the Richard L. Ottinger Internship Program
EESI’s paid internship program provides interns with substantive experiences that help them start careers in climate change policy, federal government leadership, advocacy groups, and forward-thinking businesses. Interns gain insight into the workings of Congress and the federal legislative process, knowledge of significant environmental and energy issues, and an understanding of how a nonprofit works. Interns play an integral role at EESI; many former interns tell EESI that the internship was critical to launching their career in the environmental sector. During the pandemic, EESI has continued its intern program, transitioning it to a remote internship experience. EESI is building relationships with Washington, DC area schools that are at least as diverse as the country’s student population, as part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative.
1020 19th Street NW Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036
202-628-1400
Environment
Washington
