The Climate and Development Lab

The @climatedevlab began this project with a team of students going to committee rooms at the statehouse and the state archives, here in Rhode Island. After studies in MA and CT, we went national. State-level politics are super-important, esp. with gridlock in DC.

You can read the full report at climatedevlab.brown.edu/post/manufactu…

Climate advocates have played an active role in shifting the narrative around climate policy, by partnering with or building pro-climate business and economic groups, like the @EnviroLeagueMA Corporate Council.

Our latest report, "Manufacturing Delay: How Local Business Associations Argue Against State-Level Climate Policy" shows how state business associations frequently oppose pro-climate legislation across US states. climatedevlab.brown.edu/post/manufactu… 🧵:

Check out new research fueled by IBES alums – "Where ideology meets private interest: the three-part composition of climate obstruction in the United States" @ClimateDevLab @ClimateSSN iopscience.iop.org/article/10.108…

Check out the full Illinois report here: climatedevlab.brown.edu/post/climate-a…

Want to explore the Illinois lobbying landscape for yourself? Check out howdotheylobby.org, our new tool that allows you to search millions of lobbying/testimony records and coalition networks in Illinois and 16 other states - on all bills, not just climate-related ones.

Our latest report on climate and energy in Illinois, analyzing testimony on 878 bills, shows how fossil fuel and business groups clash with environmental & progressive organizations on energy policy. Full report here: climatedevlab.brown.edu/post/climate-a… 🧵 below:

Read the full report at climatedevlab.brown.edu/post/climate-a…

Environmental Justice Rising: The passage of House Bill 1266 in 2021 reflects the elevation of environmental justice issues in the state, leading to newer, grassroots environmental coalitions gaining more power at the statehouse.

Dependence on Natural Gas: Natural gas is the leading source of electricity generation in Colorado. Gas expansion bills pit the oil industry and business groups against environmental organizations.

Xcel’s Sway: Utilities in Colorado lobby in large numbers on climate and clean energy bills. The state’s largest investor-owned utility, Xcel Energy, was the 4th most-active organization in our dataset, lobbying on more than half the bills.

Check out the key findings from our recent briefing, “Climate and Clean Energy Lobbying in Colorado” #COPolitics 🧵 climatedevlab.brown.edu/post/climate-a…

Major New Data: We built the first systematic dataset of lobbying on climate and clean energy legislation in Colorado, documenting more than 56,000 positions taken by 942 organizations on 334 bills.