The California carbon market could rebound from a sluggish 2016 — assuming it survives the new year. “Emitters have an incentive to buy early, as long as prices are at the floor. In light of this, I would expect an average of at least 80 percent of offered allowances to be sold and perhaps higher,” Energy Innovation director of research Chris Busch said.

The story from Lazard’s 10th annual report on levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is clear. Rapid technology cost reductions mean wind and solar are now the cheapest form of generation in many places around the country, without federal subsidies like tax credits. The time is now to radically adjust for a paradigm where wind and solar form the backbone of our electricity grid.

Two days before the presidential inauguration, scientists are expected to announce that 2016 was the hottest year on Earth since record-keeping began in 1880 ​— news that will test national, state and economic leadership on climate change.

California’s latest carbon allowance auction could be up to 80% subscribed, a pair of analysts predicted, bucking the trend of weak bidder demand seen for much of the past year.

The power industry has always had to visualize scenarios. Many have used simulation games as part of their training processes. But never before has gaming been positioned to have the kind of impact on the energy system as it does today.

Any changes or repeal of President Obama’s signature Clean Power Plan will depend heavily on the outcome of a legal challenge by a federal appeals court in Washington D.C. If the court rules that the EPA does not have the power to regulate, Pruitt and the Trump administration could try and simply rip the plan up. But if the rule is found to be legal, then Pruitt will have to find a way to either change some provisions or begin the long and laborious process of writing an entirely new plan with much less ambitious targets.

President-elect Donald J. Trump has long pledged to undertake a profound policy shift on climate change from the low-carbon course President Obama made a cornerstone of his eight years in the White House. But will a President Trump noticeably affect the globe’s climate in ways that, say, a President Hillary Clinton would not have?

President-elect Donald J. Trump has packed his cabinet with nominees who dispute the science of global warming. He has signaled he will withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. He has belittled the notion of global warming and attacked policies intended to combat it. But California, a state that has for 50 years been a leader in environmental advocacy, is about to step unto the breach.

Back in January, I suggested 2016 was the year for wholesale power market reform. So, was it? While shifts in these kinds of institutions take longer than one year, we’ve seen real progress on the four factors that made 2016 a turning point, and we believe progress will continue in 2017.

While President-Elect Trump may try reversing climate policy, other forces are reducing emissions without pause. Technology, economics, and state policy will increasingly force fossil fuels to remain where they belong: in the ground. The reality is most of the world’s coal, oil, and natural gas will remain buried underground forever, no matter who occupies the White House.

Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and a cadre of billionaire partners rolled out long-awaited details yesterday for how they plan to channel billions of dollars toward development of promising new low-carbon technologies.

Donald Trump’s election and presidential transition has revived debate over the roles various energy sources should play in a secure, reliable, affordable and clean U.S. electricity system. Moving beyond rhetoric, actual data show the market forces driving clean energy are likely to continue, regardless of federal policy under a President Trump. Let’s look at the numbers.

The forces driving clean energy are likely to continue progressing regardless of efforts by President-elect Donald Trump to reverse them, a leading expert in energy policy said last week at Stanford University. “…We’re going to lose a lot of good stuff, but it’s not as bleak for this purpose as one might expect,” said Hal Harvey, CEO of Energy Innovation during a Nov. 28 lecture at Stanford.

China is a country in transition. No longer striving to maintain its title as the “world’s factory,” China has embarked on a national program to ascend the economic value chain, focusing on innovation and the service sector to develop an economy that’s befitting of the middle-income country that it has become.

State agencies tasked with leading on energy efficiency may face resistance from utilities if the burden of change falls too heavily on them, according to a recent working group report.

With future federal clean energy policies in doubt, proactive clean energy policy will likely be left largely to states in the next few years. Fortunately, a New York policy proposal could show the way forward on energy efficiency for utilities. An outcome-oriented metric would focus on the policy goal of reduced energy use overall, putting a smaller emphasis on the administratively intensive business of attributing savings to specific actions.

California’s latest auction of greenhouse gas permits saw improved demand, likely due to increased confidence in the state’s emissions market. “It seems like a bit of a stabilization,” said Chris Busch, director of research at the consulting firm Energy Innovation. “Hopefully, that will reverberate positively in Sacramento.”

Since you’re clearly rethinking some of your extreme campaign promises, the right response for me is principled engagement. So let’s start now: Please revisit your claim that climate change is a hoax.

An initiative wending its way through the New York State Public Service Commission could have a big impact on the relationship between energy managers and their buildings on one side and utilities on the other. Last week, a mandated report entitled “Energy Efficiency Metrics and Targets Options Report,” which was written by the Clean Energy Advisory Council, was released. The report draws heavily on work by Energy Innovation, a think tank based in San Francisco.