Monthly Policy Update November 2023
Join us at the premier annual gathering of higher education leaders committed to addressing inequity and the climate crisis. Registration for the 2024 Summit is now open. Visit higheredclimatesummit.org for the latest information on registration, lodging, programming, and more. The Summit is at Long Beach, California on February 11-13, 2024!
Second Nature Higher Education Delegation
In December 2023, Second Nature will once again be leading a small higher education delegation at this year’s United Nations Conference on Climate Change. If you or someone at your institution are planning to attend, let us know so that we can connect with you throughout this global event and share details about sessions, receptions, side events, and more.
GLOBAL
EU promises 'substantial' climate damage funding pledge
Publication Date: November 13, 2023 | Source: Politico - Why This Matters: Ahead of COP28, the European Union will make a substantial financial pledge toward a new fund for climate damages. Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has been touring European countries and soliciting pledges ahead of the international climate negotiations next month.
COP28: a year from climate change funding breakthrough, poor countries eye disappointment at Dubai summit
Publication Date: November 10, 2023 | Source: The Conversation - Why This Matters: An agreement to establish a loss and damage fund for poorer, lower-emitting countries was seen as a major breakthrough in climate change negotiations, but the fund has failed to materialize as initially hoped. As COP28 nears, developing nations will look to ensure that they received much-needed funding for mitigation and adaptation.
FEDERAL
Federal Government Announces 31 Regional Tech Hubs to Spur American Innovation, Strengthen Manufacturing, and Create Good-Paying Jobs in Every Region of the Country
Publication Date: October 23, 2023 | Source: The White House - Why This Matters: The federal government has designated 31 communities across the country as Tech Hubs, a program that was authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act. The communities span 32 states and will catalyze growth in industries like clean energy, electric vehicles, and others.
How 'Buy Clean' policies will help decarbonize heavy industries
Publication Date: October 27, 2023 | Source: Canary Media - Why This Matters: The Buy Clean Program is designed to leverage the purchasing power of government to spur the decarbonization of heavy industries, setting maximum emission limits for steel, glass, concrete, and other heavy industries. The federal government has launched the Federal-State Buy Clean Partnership with 12 states to exchange best practices and develop cohesive policies.
Banking regulators pose challenges to federal clean energy plan
Publication Date: October 31, 2023 | Source: Politico - Why This Matters: The federal clean energy plan, which aims to direct federal funds to clean energy projects through tax credits, is encountering resistance from banking regulators. These regulators are introducing rules to make large banks less risky, which could inadvertently make it more costly for these banks to invest in clean energy projects.
Biden Finalizes Significant Overhaul in Federal
Regulations
Publication Date: November 9, 2023 | Source: NY Times - Why This Matters: New federal regulations led by the Office of Management and Budget aim to enable more aggressive efforts to combat climate change and assist the poor. Regulators will now have to pay more attention to economic inequality and enable the government to impose more costly regulations for Americans in hopes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the future.
STATES MASSACHUSETTS
State climate chief offers sweeping call for change
Publication Date: October 25, 2023 | Source: State House News Service - Why This Matters: The state's top climate official, Melissa Hoffer, released a report emphasizing the need for detailed implementation of climate policy, including recommendations like decarbonizing new public school construction. Among other recommendations, the report suggests the creation of a "climate service corps" to prepare students for careers in clean energy and climate resilience, and notes a strong interest in community colleges
and pre-apprenticeship opportunities.
MINNESOTA
Minnesota adjusts solar incentives to prioritize low-income households
Publication Date: November 6, 2023 | Source: Energy News Network - Why This Matters: A new law requires utility company Xcel Energy to dedicate half of its Solar Rewards program budget to income-qualified customers, which includes schools and nonprofits. The program provides incentives to help thousands of Minnesota homeowners pay for small solar installations.
LOUISIANA
Biden-Harris Administration Designates Tech Hub in Louisiana to Drive Innovation in Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy
Publication Date: September 30, 2023 | Source: US Economic Development Administration - Why This Matters: A consortium led by Louisiana State University was selected as a Tech Hub and will be eligible to apply for $50-75 million in funding to transition away from oil and gas and toward offshore wind. The funding was provided by the CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law in the summer of 2022.
MAINE
Maine voters reject plan for non-profit power utility backed by climate groups
Publication Date: November 8, 2023 | Source: The Guardian - Why This Matters: Maine turned down an attempt to oust the state’s corporate-owned electric utilities and replace them with a non-profit backed by climate advocacy groups. The ballot initiative proposed the takeover of two investor-owned utilities that distribute 97% of electricity in the state and replacing it with a nonprofit utility called Pine Tree Power to govern the grid.
The states and updates included in each Monthly Policy Update are based on what we are recommending for reading for that month, due to what we view as being directly relevant to higher education. From month to month, the states focused on are due to change. Do you have feedback on our Monthly Policy Updates (what you like, what you would like to see improved, etc)? Please email us: policyteam@secondnature.org. Note: Our monthly policy updates, information, and opportunities to participate, are developed with support
from Ceres, which is an organizational partner of Second Nature. Ceres has identified the following states plus Washington, D.C. for primary focus - Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. - because of the beneficial legislative climates and real opportunities for policy advancements in these states. Our Policy Updates may, or may not, include these states (and Washington, D.C.).
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