Driving Ambitious Climate Policy

Create. We’re helping states pass new climate policies that raise and invest money in clean energy technologies and solutions. For example, Washington’s Climate Commitment Act generates roughly $2 trillion for clean energy and other climate solutions. We also worked with lawmakers to create the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority, which is essentially the state’s green bank. This authority has an initial fund of $45 million and aims to leverage public and private investments to support clean energy projects, particularly in underserved communities.

Implement. Across the U.S., we helped states, tribes and local coalitions apply for funding from the IRA. Our partners received over $1 billion in awards as a result of those applications. The money was largely split across two IRA programs with almost $890 million coming from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program and $378 million from the Solar for All program. In one instance, TNC itself was part of a grant application coalition and received $200 million from the CPRG program for natural climate solutions work in the Southeast.

Create. At the federal level we also work to pass laws that will reduce emissions and expand clean energy, such as the ADVANCE Act, which will accelerate the deployment of next generation nuclear energy. It will help deploy innovative, safer nuclear technologies, facilitate international cooperation, support development of advanced nuclear facilities on brownfield sites and strengthen the U.S. nuclear supply chain and workforce.

Implement. In Pennsylvania, we were instrumental in incorporating a suite of precedent-setting protections for public lands and private conservation lands into a bill clarifying governance of carbon capture and storage. This legislation is complementary to the IRA and helps support investments in carbon capture and storage, an important tool for reducing emissions in the hardest to decarbonize sectors of the economy.

Create. We work with partners to facilitate renewable energy siting and development in ways that consider the climate, conservation and communities. New York’s Office for Renewable Energy is now a one-stop-shop that makes it easier and faster for project developers to navigate the permitting process in a responsible way for nature and people. In Colorado, we worked with coalition partners to pass state legislation that provides resources, including technical assistance and improved mapping and data, to local governments so they can assess, site and permit utility-scale renewable energy projects while considering community values, including impacts to land and wildlife.

We work with states across the country to pass new ballot measures and unlock new funding sources. For example, California recently passed Proposition 4. Proposition 4 will provide $10 billion for climate action and resilience in the state of California. It will expand natural solutions and safeguard communities and natural resources from the effects of climate change.

In Washington, we were instrumental to the rejection of Initative 2117, which would have repealed the state’s landmark climate legislation, the Climate Commitment Act. 61% of voters demonstrated their support for state-level climate action by rejecting the ballot measure.

The Climate Commitment Act will now continue to provide an estimated $9.1 billion in economic activity spurred by critical investments in programs for water, air pollution, preventing wildfires, fish habitat and transportation. It also will produce nearly 45,000 new jobs over the next 8 years.