Environmental And Energy Study Institute

EDUCATE POLICYMAKERS ABOUT EQUITABLE SCIENCE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR CLIMATE, ENERGY, & THE ENVIRONMENT

POLICYMAKER EDUCATION (FEDERAL CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY POLICY PROGRAM). FOUNDED BY A BIPARTISAN GROUP OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, EESI HAS WORKED SINCE 1984 TO PROVIDE SCIENCE-BASED INFORMATION ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL, ENERGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE TOPICS TO POLICYMAKERS AND THE PUBLIC. EESI BRIEFINGS, FACT SHEETS, ARTICLES, NEWSLETTERS, AND PODCASTS ARE INFORMATIVE, OBJECTIVE, NONPARTISAN, AND PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AT WWW.EESI.ORG. EESI EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES HAVE REACHED AT LEAST 386 CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES (71% OF THE TOTAL). IN 2023, MORE THAN 5,072 PEOPLE - THE MOST EVER - ATTENDED OUR 21 BRIEFINGS. MORE THAN 14,000 SUBSCRIBERS RECEIVED THE BIWEEKLY NEWSLETTER, CLIMATE CHANGE SOLUTIONS, AND MORE THAN 7,400 PEOPLE RECEIVED THE DAILY NEWSLETTER, COP DISPATCH, DURING THE GLOBAL CLIMATE SUMMIT (COP28). EPISODES OF EESI'S PODCAST, THE CLIMATE CONVERSATION, WERE STREAMED ABOUT 3,200 TIMES. EESI PUBLISHED 111 CLIMATE-RELATED ARTICLES AND THREE FACT SHEETS. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2023 INCLUDED A RECORD-HIGH LEVEL OF CONGRESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH EESI BRIEFINGS; EXTENSIVE COVERAGE OF COP28; THE CONGRESSIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICY FORUM; FACT SHEETS ABOUT HEAVY-DUTY ELECTRIC TRUCKS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR NONPROFITS, AND MASS TIMBER; AND RESOURCES ABOUT CLIMATE-RELATED ISSUES IN THE FARM BILL.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (ACCESS CLEAN ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM). EESI PROVIDES TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO HELP RURAL UTILITIES DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT INCLUSIVE ON-BILL FINANCING PROGRAMS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY, RENEWABLE ENERGY, AND BENEFICIAL ELECTRIFICATION. IN 2023, EESI WORKED WITH MORE THAN 10 RURAL UTILITIES AND FIVE GREEN BANKS AND ASSISTED WITH NINE ZERO-INTEREST RURAL ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM LOAN APPLICATIONS FOR $130 MILLION (FOR CUMULATIVE TOTALS OF 22 UTILITIES AND $300 MILLION IN SECURED FUNDS). EESI-ASSISTED ON-BILL FINANCING PROGRAMS FINANCED AT LEAST 650 CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS WORTH ABOUT $19 MILLION (FOR A CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF 3,700 WORTH ABOUT $71 MILLION). EESI PARTICIPATED IN EIGHT WEBINARS ABOUT THE RENEW AMERICA'S NONPROFITS GRANT PROGRAM AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY, WHICH REACHED ABOUT 1,250 PEOPLE AFFILIATED WITH DIVERSE NONPROFITS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2023 INCLUDED ASSISTANCE TO RURAL UTILITIES AND GREEN BANKS TO DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT, AND CAPITALIZE ON-BILL FINANCING PROGRAMS; SUPPORT FOR APPLICATIONS TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR GRANTS AND LOANS WORTH MORE THAN $4 BILLION FOR RURAL CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS; EXTENSIVE UPDATES TO THE BENEFICIAL ELECTRIFICATION TOOLKIT (WWW.BETOOLKIT.ORG); AND ENGAGEMENT WITH NONPROFITS ABOUT THE MULTIPLE BENEFITS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS (RICHARD L. OTTINGER INTERNSHIP AND FUTURE CLIMATE LEADERS' SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS). EESI OFFERS PAID INTERNSHIPS TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS PURSUING STUDIES IN FIELDS RELATED TO CLIMATE POLICY. INTERNS GAIN EXPERIENCE IN POLICY, COMMUNICATIONS, RESEARCH, AND NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT. THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM IS NAMED FOR EESI CO-FOUNDER AND BOARD CHAIR EMERITUS RICHARD L. "DICK" OTTINGER, WHO FORMERLY REPRESENTED NEW YORK IN CONGRESS. EESI ALSO HAS ESTABLISHED A MERIT-BASED FUTURE CLIMATE LEADERS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, ADMINISTERED BY UNCF (UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND) AND AVAILABLE TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS PURSUING RELEVANT STUDIES AT MID-ATLANTIC HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2023 INCLUDED 13 PAID INTERNSHIPS AND THREE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS PURSUING STUDIES IN FIELDS RELATED TO CLIMATE POLICY.