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With federal climate policy unlocking huge sums of private investment the region, states in the West are seizing the chance to become clean energy leaders. Ceres advances company and investor advocacy to ensure western states continue to embrace policies that will maximize the opportunity to build a thriving and clean regional economy.
As the Western states face increasingly devastating wildfires and drought, they are also welcoming an influx of private capital facilitated by the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. But leading companies, investors, and policymakers know there is much more to be done in the West to confront their climate challenges and capitalize on the clean energy economic opportunity before them.
One of the fastest growing states in the country is also the site of some of the most robust private-sector clean energy activity, demonstrating why companies and investors have become powerful voices for climate and clean energy action in Arizona. The state’s growing commitment to addressing the climate crisis and building a clean energy economy have shown that the efforts of leading companies and investors are working.
California is both one of the world’s largest economies and the country’s climate leader when it comes to state policy — long proving the economic case for robust sustainability policy. State leaders have continued to step up their ambition with new policies that will lead the nation’s transition to electric passenger and commercial vehicle fleets, while setting a gold standard in corporate climate disclosure.
With the support of major employers that know a clean economy is a stronger and more resilient one, Colorado has acted decisively to maximize and capitalize on private and federal clean energy investment. In recent years, the state has increased its ambition to achieve a net zero economy by 2050 while passing a suite of innovative clean power, clean transportation, and clean building policies to help achieve that goal — firmly cementing itself as a national climate leader.
After staking out a leadership role by the start of the 2020s, Nevada stands at a crossroads as it risks falling behind its neighbors in building a robust clean energy economy. Major businesses and investors are urging the state to press forward with smart policies that will help it compete economically while addressing the state’s mounting climate challenges.
The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission voted to adopt the full Advanced Clean Cars program following years of advocacy from influential businesses across the state, becoming the first state in the interior to do so.
Ceres coordinated more than 15 businesses and organizations to meet with Arizona policymakers outside the state Capitol, giving companies at the leading edge of clean energy an opportunity to make the case for strong policy support from the legislative and executive branches.
More than a dozen Colorado businesses succesfully pushed for the state’s Public Utilities Commission and Xcel Energy to commit to phasing out coal from the state’s energy resource mix by 2030.
Companies pushed the Arizona Corporation Commission to advance a comprehensive clean energy package that included a carbon-free electricity standard with interim requirements.
The same year, Companies also successfully advocated for the passage of a Colorado law that requires owners of large buildings to track and report greenhouse gas emissions, part of a strategy to reduce these emissions over time.
Colorado state lawmakers passed legislation that set statewide goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 90% by 2050, heeding the call of major investors and companies in the state.
In Nevada, Ceres’ led advocacy helped pass legislation that will increase the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 50% by 2030.
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The Ceres Policy Network represents some of the most recognizable brands in the U.S., who have become leading advocates in the fight against the climate crisis in the West and beyond.
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