Leonardo Martinez-Diaz
@leonardom-d.bsky.social
I lead the Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics program @carnegieendow; we work on climate mobility, clean energy supply chains & study global climate activism. Fmr. #climatefinance head @ Office of Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
Here's the latest from my colleague Milo McBride on how Europe might design a foreign policy to match its emerging green industrial policy. @milomcbride.bsky.social
Internationalizing Europe’s Clean Industrial Strategy
For the sake of the global energy transition, Europe’s industrial transformation must not only persevere but thrive.
carnegieendowment.org
Published today is our most ambitious effort yet to think strategically about the future of climate action in the United States. We hope it helps advance this urgent and important dialogue. carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
Climate Clarity: On the Future of Climate Action in the United States
Building a lasting coalition to fight global warming will require taking on the New Denialism and integrating affordability, health, and climate.
carnegieendowment.org
Want to know what happens / should happen after a coal plant is retired? Our team tracked 170 projects around the world that were repurposed for clean energy. Use our interactive Global Carbon to Clean mapping tool to get the details. #cleanenergy #climateaction
Carbon to Clean Tracker: Repurposing Fossil Fuel Power Stations into Clean Energy Hubs
The Carbon to Clean Tracker catalogs where and how fossil fuel power stations are being repurposed into clean alternatives.
carnegieendowment.org
Our Disaster Dollar Database keeps delivering useful insights about FEMA and the politics of federal disaster aid. www.axios.com/2025/03/13/f...
These states could suffer the most without FEMA
Some of the most disaster-prone states would face the greatest financial burdens with less federal relief assistance.
axios.com
🚨For the past year, Carnegie has convened a bipartisan taskforce of past and future policymakers and industry leaders to explore the clean energy supply chain and develop a roadmap for the future. 📝Today, the taskforce released its final report and recommendations: t.co/yQtyxNDLPT
The U.S. Foreign Policy for Clean Energy Taskforce
Clean energy and associated products are increasingly essential for the security and prosperity of the United States. But if the United States is to decarbonize its own economy and do its part to cut…
t.co
We calculated which Congressmen will get hammered if FEMA aid dries up. Here's what we found... carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
Maybe it takes a Nixon to go to China, or Trump to embrace carbon tariffs….
Could Trump’s Favorite Word Double as Climate Policy?
A Republican carbon tariff proposal aims to boost U.S. competitiveness vis-à-vis China—and cut emissions.
foreignpolicy.com
You can catch a recording of our event on U.S. foreign policy and clean energy here: m.youtube.com/watch?v=WcsU...
The Future of U.S. Clean Energy – Session 1/2
YouTube video by Carnegie Endowment
m.youtube.com
Proud of my team’s deeply researched and timely publication, released yesterday, making the case that the United States should care deeply about winning the global race for clean energy technology. But first, we have to stop losing it. carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
How the U.S. Can Stop Losing the Race for Clean Energy
The United States lags far behind China in the race for clean energy technologies and critical minerals. It needs a robust domestic industrial policy and international partnerships to make up ground.
carnegieendowment.org
Our updated Disaster Dollar Database is now live! Data on FEMA and HUD aid flows for 1,300 disasters, going back to 2003. Great resource for these times of politicized disaster aid. carnegieendowment.org/features/dis...
Tracking U.S. Federal Disaster Spending: The Disaster Dollar Database
The Disaster Dollar Database is a tool that tracks the major sources of grant-based federal funding for disaster recovery in the United States.
carnegieendowment.org
The politics of disaster relief suggest that the current admin will have considerable trouble dismantling FEMA. Data from our Disaster Dollar Database shows why: climate-vulnerable red states would be hurt most.
Trump’s talking about shutting down FEMA. Republicans hate that idea.
GOP lawmakers resisted the president's suggestion FEMA might need to "go away," but they support changes to the disaster response agency.
politico.com
Reading this EO, it feels like this new FEMA review council is being strongly nudged toward a pre-cooked conclusion: the costs and responsibilities of disaster aid should be pushed down to the states and away from the federal gov’t.
Council to Assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency – The White House
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section
whitehouse.gov
Many congratulations to these grant winners! All are doing great and important work covering climate change: www.macfound.org/press/press-...
More than $6 Million in Support of Climate Journalism
macfound.org
Investors' attention span for physical climate risk buried in municipal bonds is limited, and so local investment in adaptation may be being squelched. Maybe limiting the federal tax exemption would focus things - post today: open.substack.com/pub/susanpcr...
Municipal bonds continuing on despite physical climate risk
There may be a deal to be done using the federal tax exemption, but no one except the people who live here in the future will like it
open.substack.com
China keeps surging ahead in the global clean energy race. Without a rapid change in US policy, it will leave American firms in the dust. Proposals from our team on how Washington can turn this around are coming soon. Watch this space.
China surpasses 2030 renewables target six years early
Analysts believe China’s emissions may have already peaked, as the country surges ahead in the global green energy race.
semafor.com
Great insights from my team member @sarahlabo.bsky.social on the politics of disaster aid for California. We at @carnegieendowment.org will keep a sharp eye out for the politicization of aid in the age of climate-linked disasters.
What Trump can (and can’t) do to disrupt Los Angeles wildfire aid
It will be hard for President Trump to revoke FEMA funding — but a GOP-led Congress could slow down recovery in Los Angeles.
grist.org
Unfortunate development. But quietly or not, the Fed will have to grapple with escalating climate impacts across the economy. And the debate about using monetary policy to push the energy transition is coming back, especially once fiscal policy levers become exhausted.
Federal Reserve Withdraws From Global Climate Coalition
The Federal Reserve has withdrawn from the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System, a global coalition of central banks engaged in the study of climate risk that was...
bloomberg.com
An exciting development: ARPA-E's first funding for supercritical geothermal resources. $30 million is small, but it's an important first step to unlocking this untapped, high-reward resource. Hope to see more this. #Geothermal #EnergySky
Press Release | U.S. Department of Energy Announces $30 Million to Increase Baseload Power Resources Through Access to Superhot Geothermal Energy Resources
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced $30 million to increase geothermal power production by unlocking superhot reservoirs deep within the Earth. Currently, geothermal baseload production in the U.S. is limited to 4 gigawatts (GW). ARPA-E’s Stimulate Utilization of Plentiful Energy in Rocks through High-temperature Original Technologies (SUPERHOT) program aims to provide access to superhot reservoirs capable of producing 10-20 GW of reliable baseload power at a competitive cost.“Geothermal is a reliable and secure baseload power source, but today we are only able to access a fraction of the energy it can provide,” said ARPA-E Director Evelyn N. Wang. “SUPERHOT projects can change that and allow access to hotter reservoirs to create more domestic flow of energy onto America’s grid.”The SUPERHOT program will explore modification of conventional well designs or completely novel designs, materials, and materials systems that satisfy requirements to survive superhot conditions. SUPERHOT’s goals are to develop robust geothermal well construction capable of a 15-year operational life and enable transfer of heat from the surrounding geologic formation to the well. Projects will seek to enable access to resources with temperatures greater than 375 °C and pressures greater than 22 megapascals.SUPERHOT builds on ARPA-E’s history of support for enhanced geothermal projects. ARPA-E’s work in this area includes supporting industry leaders Fervo Energy, AltaRock Energy, and Eden Geopower.Visit the ARPA-E eXCHANGE website for more information about SUPERHOT, including key guidelines.ARPA-E is the disruption wing of the DOE that funds and directs the discovery of outlier energy technologies that are strategic to America's energy security. Learn more about these efforts and ARPA-E's commitment to ensuring American-made energy for all through U.S. leadership in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies. Press and General Inquiries:202-287-5440ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
arpa-e.energy.gov
All eyes are on the crisis in the fire insurance market, but we can’t forget the other looming climate-relates crisis: flood insurance markets are not working either. Urgent fixes are needed, argues my team-member @scrawford.bsky.social in her latest piece for @carnegieendowment.org:
Flood Insurance Reform for the U.S. Housing Market
Flood risks affect homeowners’ costs and home values, but the housing finance system may not sufficiently account for these risks.
carnegieendowment.org
The global race for clean energy technologies is on, and the U.S. is behind. My team member @milomcbride.bsky.social explains what Washington needs to do to catch up: the-world-unpacked.simplecast.com/episodes/can...
Can the U.S. Win the Clean Energy Race Against China? | The World Unpacked
Sophia sits down with Milo McBride to discuss the politics of clean energy technologies and the global struggle for clean energy dominance.
the-world-unpacked.simplecast.com
Our system of disaster aid is accustomed to dealing with hurricanes. Wildfires were a sideshow, financially speaking. Now, it will have to cope with a wildfire of hurricane-like dimensions. Here's the details from my team-member @sarahlabo.bsky.social: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
The California Fires Could Upend the U.S. Disaster Recovery System
Hurricane-strength fires in dense, urban areas are a game-changer for an already fragile federal recovery structure.
carnegieendowment.org
Seeing the disaster conspiracy playbook run wild again during the #LAfires. It's 2 parts: 1) undermine government emergency responders, 2) divide people who need help. There's even evidence that foreign gov'ts are running the playbook in disaster after disaster. carnegieendowment.org/posts/2024/1...
Disaster-Related Misinformation Isn’t Unique to Helene and Milton
The conspiracy playbook focuses on undermining confidence in government and dividing Americans.
carnegieendowment.org
The California wildfires will very likely trigger a crisis of the home insurance system in the state. The debate to follow cuts to the heart of the climate damages conundrum: Who Pays? More on CA from my colleague @scrawford.bsky.social: susanpcrawford.substack.com/p/what-happe...
What happens when a state insurer of last resort goes belly-up?
A possible next act in this new drama: California
susanpcrawford.substack.com
It’s always invigorating to start writing on a fresh page. I will use this platform to promote our work at Carnegie Climate, reflect on my time in the Biden admin, and stay hopeful and constructive on the key climate issues of the day. There is much to do.
