Acadia Center’s Climate Focus in 2025: Building Lines of Defense to Protect Progress

In 2025 Acadia Center will redouble its 25 year track record advancing progress at the state, multi-state, regional and community levels to fulfill ambitious climate goals and as a first line of defense against regressive federal action. We are working with states, cities and diverse partners to support clean energy and advance equitable and just solutions and supporting the rule of law. Acadia Center will affirmatively showcase how a clean energy future will reduce energy costs and improve the resilience and quality of life in communities and rebut disinformation campaigns with effective analyses and public messaging.

Acadia Center’s Action Plan in 2025

1. State Climate and Clean Energy Action: A First Line of Defense

States, cities and provinces have aggressive climate goals independent of federal mandates, and longstanding legal authority to enact, strengthen, and implement policies on their own. Acadia Center supports and strengthens these efforts with informed solutions, recommendations, and constructive critiques throughout the region.

OUTCOME: States will advance and redouble efforts to achieve climate targets despite federal intrusion. Best practices will be established. Data will demonstrate the customer, economic, health and equity benefits of making progress.

2. Combat Misinformation and Amplify Forward-Thinking Climate Solutions, Cutting through the Fog with Facts

Acadia Center will deploy its expertise, research capacity and conviction toward the solutions needed to reduce climate pollution and improve the health and safety of all residents. In light of the actions of the new federal administration and other assaults on clean energy and data, Acadia Center experts stand ready to combat misinformation and help states and agencies stay the course on the best policy solutions and design new tools to backfill federal resources.

OUTCOME: Acadia Center will deploy its Rapid Response to rebut special interest disinformation campaigns intended to confuse the public about the benefits of a clean energy transition. Accessible information is shaped and offered to the media, the public, and decision-makers to support the economic, consumer, and community benefits of clean energy solutions.

3. Expand Opportunities for State and Regions to Cooperate and Accelerate Progress, Reduce Costs, and Act as a Bulwark Against Federal Backsliding

Cooperation between states, regions, and neighboring provinces will grow the economic pie, reduce costs, speed climate progress, create broader markets for clean energy services, make better use of complementary resources and avoid duplicating efforts. With greater cooperation, the region can achieve billions of dollars in reduced costs to consumers, a stronger power grid, and energy and transportation systems that work better for all. Acadia Center projects will demonstrate these benefits and recommend ways for greater cooperation – choosing collaboration in the face of steps to alienate and divide.

OUTCOME: Multi-state dialogues are advanced that can achieve billions of dollars in reduced costs, improved power reliability, healthier buildings, greater community input into infrastructure planning, and faster reductions in damaging air pollution.

4. Shape the Clean Energy Future to Improve Community Resiliency and Address Energy Affordability

Consumers pay billions yearly to support the power grid and other energy systems, and these stakeholders – rural and urban communities, consumers, and commercial entities – need a larger say in how energy investments prioritize clean energy and energy burden as issues.  Solutions that reduce climate pollution also provide consumer, economic and workforce growth benefits, improve public health and improve the ability of communities to have access to reliable power. Properly done, clean energy solutions can rectify a legacy of imposing pollution and cost burdens on environmental justice and rural communities. Our work seeks solutions to energy cost burdens and examines ways to work with communities on energy challenges.

OUTCOME: Energy burden relief measures are addressed ed and adopted. Community resiliency is supported with more responsive energy reliability planning and operation.