RMI

Ahead of #COP30, I'm heading to Rio de Janeiro early next week for the 🇧🇷 Oceans of Opportunity Summit, where RMI and our partners are bringing together senior leaders to discuss global shipping frameworks, ports as energy hubs, financing low-carbon projects, and deploying zero-emission fuels at scale. We’re entering a pivotal moment for maritime decarbonization. By engaging with leaders to shape the future of shipping and ports, and exploring real-world examples like the Porto do Açu and Port of Antwerp-Bruges transatlantic partnership, we can transform commitments into action. I'll kick off the summit with a session on Setting the Global Ambition for Maritime Decarbonization and will moderate a panel on De-risking Green Maritime Projects and Capital Allocation into Infrastructure — bringing back insights that connect the dots between energy, shipping, industry, and global policy in ways that deliver measurable impact. Curious about what we mean when we say Oceans of Opportunity? Our joint report with Global Maritime Forum outlines strategies for ports to capitalize on this critical time of transition to become not just pioneers in maritime decarbonization, but clean energy hubs for entire industrial regions. https://lnkd.in/gRRkeKX8

Carbon removal, together with a transition to clean energy, is essential to stabilizing the climate and reducing excess greenhouse gases. It also offers opportunities to clean up waste, restore ecosystems, and create jobs in emerging industries. RMI’s new discussion paper explores how governments can accelerate carbon removal through smart, coordinated market action. To stabilize our climate, the world will need to remove around 100 million tons of carbon dioxide each year by 2035 — roughly equal to the annual emissions of Japan’s entire power sector. Achieving that scale will require about $20 billion in annual investment to drive innovation and early deployment. While progress is being made, the industry is not yet on track. A government-led advance market commitment (AMC) offers a powerful way to close this gap. By guaranteeing future demand, governments can attract private investment, reduce costs through competition, and set clear standards for a credible global carbon removal market. Similar mechanisms have helped other critical public goods, and the same approach can now accelerate carbon removal. The next decade will determine whether carbon removal becomes a cornerstone of climate action or remains a missed opportunity. This paper outlines design options and invites governments, industry, and civil society to work together to build a mechanism that delivers durable climate impact. 📘 Read more: https://ow.ly/vS0Z50XkuIG

California is leading the transition to electric trucking, and the Bay Area is positioned to be a proving ground for the transition’s success. Meeting the power demand in this region can reduce electricity costs and enhance the competitiveness of electric fleets — but seizing this opportunity will require support from multiple actors. Coordination between fleets, utilities, regulators, and charging infrastructure providers can help successfully transition to an electrified freight future. Additionally, state and local governments can accelerate timelines with targeted funding, standardized permitting, and long-range plans that integrate freight electrification into regional land use and transportation strategies. RMI’s new regional roadmap highlights where and when infrastructure will be needed and how stakeholders can take action to support different types of electric trucks and electrification scenarios over time: https://ow.ly/R5CM50XktKz

Electricity is getting more and more expensive. Roughly one third of American households report having to forgo food, medicine, or other basic needs to pay their energy bills. These increasing prices are driven by aging grid infrastructure, extreme weather and wildfires, fuel price volatility, load growth, and misaligned utility incentives. The good news: policy solutions are available to address high energy burdens. These policies have potential benefits beyond cost savings, like increased resilience and security, better air quality and health, and job creation and economic development. RMI’s toolkit provides guidance on over two dozen policies that state legislators, their staff, advocates, and others can use to advance electricity affordability at the state level: https://ow.ly/5oCr50XjHRO

RMI is proud to welcome Pat Wood, III, and Paula Glover to our Board of Trustees — two leaders whose careers have shaped the landscape of U.S. energy policy, markets, and innovation. Their combined expertise will help guide RMI’s work to advance a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future in the United States and around the world. Pat Wood, III, served as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under President George W. Bush and now leads Hunt Energy Network. Throughout his career, he has been a driving force behind competitive power markets, grid modernization, and energy system reliability. Paula Glover, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, has championed energy efficiency and equitable policy solutions that deliver real benefits for communities and the economy. Her leadership has helped secure landmark federal investments in efficiency and climate resilience. Together, Wood and Glover bring a deep understanding of how markets, policy, and technology can work in tandem to accelerate the energy transition. Their insight and experience will strengthen RMI’s ability to deliver practical, scalable solutions that meet the moment — supporting a prosperous, secure, and sustainable future for all. Learn more: https://bit.ly/48QOfWJ

It's been more than four months since I left the Transmission Fellowship at RMI (https://lnkd.in/gKK_EGPY), and I am still processing the experience. More than anything, I am grateful to RMI and all the talented, wonderful people who taught and mentored me last year. Through their nurture, I was able to pivot careers and find meaningful work at the California Public Utilities Commission. I'm sharing a video here (https://lnkd.in/gNQqXm2t) where I share some of my learnings and accomplishments from the fellowship. Please be in touch if you are considering trying to find work in the energy policy and planning space. There's plenty of great work to do and good people to do it with!

Methane intensity — how much methane is wasted from leaks along the oil and gas supply chain — is a critical consideration for multiple applications. Insurance companies use methane intensity as an underwriting guideline to gauge system safety, and banks and investors are following suit. Two main metrics to consider are the gas loss rate — how much methane ends up in the atmosphere and not in the market — and the volumetric methane intensity, which considers the methane emitted based on combined oil and gas throughout the system. Both metrics can be assessed and compared over desired system boundaries. A comprehensive look at oil and gas methane intensities requires the use of both metrics to fairly assess complex global petroleum systems and find places to cut down on methane waste sector-wide. https://ow.ly/PUhA50XirPW #MethaneMonday

State laws promoting advanced transmission technologies (ATTs) could cut customer electricity costs, relieve congestion, and improve grid reliability — but only if they are implemented with care. ATTs like grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) and advanced conductors route power efficiently through existing power lines to deliver more electricity through current infrastructure. Utilities and regulators can realize the value of ATTs if they include them throughout generation and transmission planning. Passing state ATT laws is a first step. States that lead on implementation can unlock investments that will deliver benefits for consumers and utilities alike: https://ow.ly/26VG50Xinf3

We’re entering one of the fastest-growing periods of electricity demand in over a decade. While data centers get most of the attention, the real story is bigger — electric cars, growing cities, and millions of people getting air conditioners and other appliances for the first time. That’s good news for progress, but it also means higher energy bills and more pressure on power grids. RMI’s analysis shows that we need smarter, faster solutions — adding clean energy like solar and batteries, strengthening the grid with alternative transmission technologies, and accelerating efficiency to waste less power in buildings and technology. Electricity use will keep rising in the years ahead, and meeting that demand with clean, affordable, and reliable power is one of the biggest challenges — and opportunities — of our time. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4oxb7z5

My experience as an RMI Transmission Fellow was the first step to a completely new career that I'm loving. (My whole cohort is now working on these issues full time.) People told me going in that RMI was a special place, and now I'm one of those evangelists. If you want to see why, this excellent video they made captures my experience in a bottle. Watch. https://lnkd.in/e4-Hjdbe #career #opportunity #transmission