Schneider Summer Fellow - Climate & Clean Energy Analysis/Colorado Advocacy

NRDC's Climate & Clean Energy Program (C&CE) is seeking a fellow to be split between our analysis and Colorado advocacy teams. The fellow will conduct research and analysis on the clean energy transition in the U.S. and the implications of state and utility climate commitments and advance Colorado advocacy on clean transportation and carbon reduction policies in Colorado

Work with the C&CE analysis team:

• Half of the fellowship will be dedicated to NRDC’s C&CE analysis team, which works with states, industry, environmental groups and other stakeholders to support strong emissions reductions in the power sector and across the economy. The fellow will be an integral part of our team focused on analyzing policy design questions and helping develop technical resources for our climate and energy advocacy.
• In light of the findings of the latest IPCC report, as well as the increasingly recognized need to set even more ambitious climate goals than previously believed, the main focus of this fellowship will be assisting with the drafting of an issue brief that highlights and discusses the common trends and conclusions between the most recent published deep decarbonization studies for the U.S. economy. Those include NRDC’s Pathways report, the Midwest Power Sector Collaborative’s deep decarbonization study for the Midwest, Vibrant Clean Energy’s deep decarbonization study for Minnesota, and of course, the latest IPCC report. The main objective will be to identify and highlight areas of convergence to delineate a robust set of projected trends in the energy sector as well as policies that would enable the U.S. to achieve its climate goals. The scope of work will include: (1) synthesizing information and data from the reports laid out above, in addition to others; (2) helping with the drafting of the brief and the NRDC blog that would accompany the publication. This project will account for about one-half of the fellow’s time.

Work on state-level advocacy in Colorado:

• NRDC is building its presence in the Rocky Mountains and has a growing team in Denver, Colorado. The team works to advance policies in Colorado to cut carbon pollution.  In a new effort to build NRDC’s power and voice in the region, the team is interdisciplinary and includes staff from our campaigns team, a business organizer and staff focusing on city level advocacy.
• NRDC’s efforts in Colorado over the past year have included advancing energy efficiency, supporting increased investment in vehicle electrification, and advocating for Colorado advanced clean car standards. In the coming year, possible projects will be focused on the continuation of cutting transportation and electric sector emissions in the state, through policy development and regulatory advocacy. The fellow’s work will be focused on clean transportation solutions in Colorado, including advocacy at the Colorado Public Utility Commission and Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment in support of Electric Vehicles and carbon emissions reduction from transportation.  The fellowship will follow the 2019 session, where NRDC will work to advance carbon limits, improved transit and multi-modal planning and funding, electric vehicle tax credits, and increased renewable energy.  We are also hoping to finalize the advanced clean cars rules in the next six to nine months.  We expect the fellow will support administrative advocacy to implement these policies following the session.