Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)

Welcome to a new twist on the typical EESI Congressional briefing: EESI Rapid Readouts! Things are happening faster than ever, and you need information quickly. These 30-minute, interactive Readouts will bring you what you need to know, when you need to know it. This venerable U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program is best known by its distinctive blue logo, which helps consumers choose high-efficiency appliances and electronics that save them money. But ENERGY STAR is much more than that, and it underpins countless federal, state, and local energy efficiency initiatives. This Readout provided background on the bipartisan origins and heritage of ENERGY STAR and described the many benefits the program delivers to households and businesses, including retailers, developers, and utilities.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing about Congress’s role in bolstering the long-term resilience, investability, and insurability of U.S. communities. Insurance premiums have increased [https://grist.org/economics/as-climate-risks-mount-the-insurance-safety-net-is-collapsing/] by an average of 21% since 2015, and almost 67% of U.S. homes are underinsured. This raises significant questions about the ability of American households to affordably manage the risks they face from increasingly severe and frequent disasters like wildfires and storm-induced flooding. This briefing explored the basics of property insurance and how it functions in the United States, including the challenges faced by individuals, businesses, insurers, and reinsurers. It also featured existing and emerging tools—from parametric insurance [https://www.icrrl.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/102/files/2022/09/Parametric-Insurance-22.pdf] to climate endorsements [https://www.insuranceforgood.org/blog/unlocking-insurance-to-rebuild-stronger-and-greener-after-disasters]—that are reshaping how insurance products can better serve communities. Panelists described the role of federal policy in advancing these new ways of thinking about insurance. At this briefing, Woodwell Climate Research Center also be launched a new report, Rebuilding Insurance for a Climate Future: A Policy Guide to Understand Tools, Address Inequities, and Find Solutions [https://www.woodwellclimate.org/rebuilding-insurance/].

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), the American Public Health Association, and Transportation for America held a briefing about the public health implications of transportation policy. As Congress embarks on the surface transportation reauthorization process, policymakers have the opportunity to revisit federal policies and investments that also shape public health, prosperity, and climate outcomes.  This briefing explored the nexus of transportation, public health, and climate change. Panelists described potential negative health outcomes, stemming from issues like air pollution and road crashes. The briefing also provided policy, process, and funding solutions that weave public health considerations into the surface transportation reauthorization process in a way that benefits both people and climate.

Hosted in coordination with the House and Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucuses and the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) held a briefing about the 13th edition of the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook [https://bcse.org/market-trends/]. The Factbook provides valuable year-over-year data and insights on the U.S. energy transformation, featuring an in-depth look at the energy efficiency, renewable energy, and natural gas sectors, as well as transmission, digitalization, microgrids, offshore wind, hydrogen, and renewable natural gas. This year, the Factbook dives into the growing energy demand driven by data centers and artificial intelligence. It examines trends in clean energy supply chains, growth in domestic manufacturing, and the ways in which permitting and siting impact the deployment of renewable energy. Panelists spoke to key takeaways from the 2025 Factbook and what they mean for industries working in all facets of the energy transition. The Factbook, published by BloombergNEF and BCSE, launched on February 20, and is available to download for free at www.bcse.org/factbook [http://www.bcse.org/factbook].

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a start-of-the-new-Congress briefing series, Climate Camp [https://www.eesi.org/2025climatecamps]. We reviewed climate science, cutting-edge innovations, and the role of the legislative process in climate mitigation and adaptation. The surface transportation bill reauthorizes federal highway, transit, and rail funding and programs every five years. This final briefing of EESI’s Congressional Climate Camp series [https://www.eesi.org/2025climatecamps] provided a breakdown of everything decision-makers need to know ahead of the bill’s next reauthorization in 2026.  Panelists described the transportation bill’s history, including bipartisan cooperation, climate-related provisions, and external stakeholder engagement. Looking ahead, the briefing explained the general timeline for the reauthorization, the bill’s jurisdiction, and key issues across bill titles. The briefing also shared on-the-ground climate success stories from the most recent reauthorization—the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.