The Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) believes solving our most pressing environmental challenges requires actionable research, training, and engagement to accelerate the implementation of solutions.
Our Mission:
CLEE tackles climate change and other environmental challenges at the local to global scale through the development and implementation of equitable and effective legal and policy solutions. Our expert staff leverages the world’s leading public research university to engage community leaders, government, business, and other stakeholders; to lead timely and practical research initiatives; and to train leaders to take action on our most pressing environmental problems.
Our Values:
- Pragmatism: CLEE focuses on answering “how” questions and implementing timely and practical climate and environmental solutions
- Collaboration: CLEE convenes policymakers, stakeholders, and other interested parties to tackle complex problems
- Integration: CLEE builds expert multidisciplinary teams to solve problems
- Equity: CLEE is committed to representing and including diverse perspectives to design and implement equitable solutions
- Experience: CLEE’s experienced team of government leaders and experts brings invaluable practical knowledge to our work
In the News
What the Trump Administration Could Mean for Our Climate
(11/11/2024)Topics: Environmental Law Topic
Recent Publications
A record of all CLEE reports is available here.
2040 Sustainable Battery Vision: Global Forum for Sustainable Batteries
December 2024 
The effort to electrify transportation includes minerals like lithium, nickel, graphite, and cobalt. These and other minerals are too often mined and processed in ways that contribute to harming communities and ecosystems. The minerals used to build batteries for the electric buses, cars, trucks, and trains that help curb the climate crisis could instead be produced as sustainably as possible around the world, with ample community buy-in at each stage of the process.
If advocates, industry, stakeholders, and policy makers work together, they can avoid replicating past problems and injustices and can instead work to build a sustainable supply chain, powered by just mining practices, and strengthened by innovations that make efficient use – and reuse – of existing mineral resources, all while protecting the communities that will be central to the clean energy future.
To support this vision, Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) and ClimateWorks Foundation founded the Global Forum for Sustainable Batteries, a worldwide network of nonprofit leaders, experts, and advocates committed to transportation electrification and mining justice. In 2024, the Forum developed a 2040 Sustainable Battery Vision to guide policymakers, organizations, companies, and the general public in the key elements of what a truly sustainable battery should be by 2040. The 2040 Sustainable Battery Vision covers all aspects of the supply chain and beyond.
Learn more about the 2040 Sustainable Battery Vision.
Equitable EV Action Plan Framework
December 2024
The Equitable EV Action Plan Framework is designed to assist local governments and stakeholders in crafting EV and electrified mobility action plans to achieve transportation decarbonization through locally tailored, equity-focused strategies.
The Framework includes nationwide examples of best practices, ambitious policies, and innovative pilots across public and multifamily EV charging, shared and micromobility, funding and implementation, agency coordination, community engagement, and more.
Read the Framework: Equitable EV Action Plan Framework
November 2024
Each year, we reflect on CLEE’s mission and progress. Our 2024 Snapshot highlights our expanding efforts to help design, articulate, and share models for policy implementation.
As an independent academic center, CLEE takes a research-driven approach that prioritizes non-partisan, solutions-focused thinking. This independence allows us to support California and other jurisdictions with objective expertise—essential as regions worldwide look to California for environmental leadership. Known for being at the cutting edge, California collaborates with subnational governments globally to exchange knowledge, expertise, and vision. CLEE’s 2024 work has built on our experience working with the State of California and uniquely positioned us to contribute to its expanding global role in addressing the climate crisis.
Thank you for partnering with us at this critical moment. Please join us in celebrating our achievements and renewing our commitment to sustainable, equitable solutions.
Read this year’s annual report: CLEE 2024 Annual Snapshot
November 2024
When appropriately designed and implemented, water markets can enhance climate resilience for people and ecosystems in water-scarce regions like the U.S. Southwest. Adequate information about water diversion and use is a necessary precursor for fair and effective water markets because it defines what can be traded, enables tracking of trading transactions and changes in the physical and legal availability of water, and facilitates assessment of the impacts trading has on others.Reducing Financing Costs for New Transmission in California
October 2024
California will need a significant build-out of new high-voltage transmission lines to meet state goals for renewable energy deployment and a decarbonized grid by 2045, which requires a quadrupling of its current in-state solar and wind capacity. But if this new infrastructure is paid for solely through electricity rates, it could increase those rates significantly, which have already increased roughly 50% over the past three years for investor-owned utility customers.
In response, CLEE presents a policy report containing a variety of strategies available to policymakers for financing new high-voltage power transmission in California, with the dual goals of 1) reducing costs to ratepayers and 2) accelerating transmission development. The report was developed with the support of Net-Zero California and Clean Air Task Force.
Read the report: Improving Transmission Financing in California: Alternative Models and Policy Strategies to Increase Affordability
October 2024
Understanding the imperative for climate action, California has established a comprehensive framework for climate adaptation and resilience. This initiative is shaped by the California Climate Adaptation Strategy, the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resilience Program (ICARP) in the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI), along with various sectoral and investment programs.
CLEE’s new report finds that State adaptation funding in California is characterized by an oversubscribed, unstable, and complex funding landscape, limiting the State’s ability to advance and implement equitable adaptation efforts. While nuanced, these challenges suggest an opportunity for the State to refine its approach to funding climate adaptation and resilience. The report outlines recommendations for State Grant Program Administrators and State Policymakers on improving the funding landscape.
Read the report: Bridging the Implementation Gap: Challenges and Opportunities for California’s Resilience Funding Landscape
Community Benefits Tools and California Clean Energy Projects
October 2024
Communities and governments at all levels are increasingly turning to community benefits tools to support an equitable climate transition, catalyze tangible and meaningful, long-term investments in community priorities, and achieve effective, durable projects. CLEE’s report provides an overview of policy drivers and tools that can be employed to deliver community benefits and outlines examples of successful Community Benefits Agreements, often considered the “gold standard” among various community benefits tools.
For additional structures that can promote community roles in equitable energy infrastructure deployment, such as participatory budgeting and community oversight councils, please see CLEE’s report, Facilitating Equity-Oriented EV Infrastructure Investments: Strategies for Project Design.
Read the report: Community Benefits Tools and California Clean Energy Projects
October 2024
As the national EV market is expected to grow nearly tenfold by 2030, state, federal, and private sector dollars are increasingly flowing into EV infrastructure across the U.S. However, charging investments have thus far faced significant barriers to equity. Current disparities in EV access risk further disenfranchising already underserved communities, impeding the widespread uptake of sustainable transportation options, and perpetuating patterns of mobility and environmental inequality.
The emerging California and U.S. policy context provides an opportunity to design needed EV infrastructure plans in a manner that advances local economic prosperity and environmental justice. This policy report presents three strategies for local governments and community-based organizations seeking to design equity-oriented EV infrastructure investments, including community oversight councils, Community Benefits Agreements, and participatory budgeting processes. These measures are explored through multiple case studies and presented alongside additional tools for equity-oriented project design to inform local jurisdiction-scale EVSE development.
Read the report: Facilitating Equity-Oriented Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Investments: Strategies for Project Design
October 2024
To provide insurance to homeowners where private insurers decline to write insurance, 33 states have enacted laws creating Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plans which write insurance for homeowners otherwise unable to obtain private insurance. This policy brief proposes that the federal government establish a federal reinsurance program for state-level FAIR Plans to reduce the cost of purchasing private reinsurance for these plans. This reduction would help lower the cost of providing FAIR Plan insurance and enable FAIR Plans to access more reinsurance. As a result, the likelihood that FAIR Plans would need to assess private insurers if claims exceed reserves would decrease, addressing a factor contributing to private insurers reducing or declining to write insurance. A federal program of reinsurance that does not seek to make profits and whose reserves are funded by US taxpayers would be able to offer reinsurance at a lower premium price than private reinsurers and provide better terms such as lower attachment points and more coverage than private reinsurers are willing to take on. It would also avoid the potential negative consequences of creating a broader taxpayer-subsidized scheme of insurance, like that of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Read the policy brief: Federal Reinsurance for State FAIR Plans: A Policy Proposal to Assist State-Created Insurers of Last Resort
Electric Shared Mobility: California Lessons Learned for Equity in Program Design
September 2024
Shared mobility—an umbrella term for sharing transportation among multiple passengers—has the potential to accelerate transportation electrification, air quality, and greenhouse gas reduction goals, meet the needs of underserved communities that most lack mobility access, and further broaden mobility equity policy goals. CLEE’s new report highlights examples of shared mobility programs and identifies lessons learned for equity-focused electric vehicle (EV) program design based on analysis of California projects in two key categories: EV carshare and mobility hubs.
The report is intended to assist local government leaders, air district and transit planning and program staff, and other stakeholders promote equity in the planning and installation of shared mobility and EV carshare programs. The authors hope that the examples and lessons outlined in the report can help ensure that new and expanded shared mobility programs are both equitable and effective.
Read the report: Electric Shared Mobility: California Lessons Learned for Equity in Program Design
Fueling & Financing: Addressing the Urgent Challenges Facing Electric Heavy-Duty Vehicle Deployment
August 2024
Heavy-duty vehicles, such as large semi-trucks and buses, disproportionately contribute to harmful air pollution, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities. They also emit significant greenhouse gases, exacerbating climate change. Fortunately, zero-emission electric versions of these vehicles are on the road today and increasingly available. However, the infrastructure required to support these vehicles is immense. The California Energy Commission estimates that by 2030, the state will need 114,500 chargers to support the anticipated 155,000 medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks and buses.
To address these dual needs of infrastructure and financing, UC Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) and the UCLA Law Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment convened experts and stakeholders to help identify the most pressing barriers both to deploying more charging infrastructure and to unlocking more private financing for both electric vehicles and the infrastructure on which they rely, as well as the solutions to overcome those barriers.
Read the report: Fueling & Financing: Addressing the Urgent Challenges Facing Electric Heavy-Duty Vehicle Deployment.
Policy Strategies to Promote Equitable EV Charging Access for Multifamily Housing Residents
August 2024 
The rapidly approaching electric vehicle (EV) transition that California and 12 other states have committed to enact over the coming decade mounts pressure on state and local governments to deliver millions of new EV chargers across various location types. Homes constitute the core of a convenient and reliable charging network, and EV charging infrastructure in multifamily housing and multi-unit dwellings (MUDs) in particular, will serve a vital role in ensuring an equitable clean mobility transition.
The current lack of electric vehicle charging at MUDs limits the ability of their residents – particularly in lower-income and dense urban communities – to access the health and financial benefits of this clean technology. Our new report, informed by interviews with program officials and multifamily residential charging experts, draws from city programs and existing case studies to identify equity-oriented solutions to key MUD charging barriers.
Read the report: Policy Strategies to Promote Equitable EV Charging Access for Multifamily Housing Residents
Advancing Climate Adaptation: Findings from California’s Adaptation Planning Grant Program
June 2024
Building resilience to climate risks requires investment in adaptation, or a series of actions intended to anticipate, mitigate, and adjust to the challenges posed by warming conditions. Climate adaptation is crucial to building equitable resilience and safeguarding the state’s economy, environment, and public health.
The Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program (ICARP) at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) administers the Adaptation Planning Grant Program (APGP). APGP provides funding to address local, regional, and tribal planning needs, equips communities with the resources to identify climate resilience priorities, and supports the development of planning-to-implementation project pathways across the state.
CLEE’s new report provides an initial assessment of the first round of APGP, including a review of adaptation funding literature, a landscape analysis of State programs facilitating local and regional adaptation actions, an analysis of program engagement and award data, and interviews with the 14 program grantees, as well as four grantee case studies.
Read the report: Advancing Climate Adaptation Capacity: Findings from California’s Adaptation Planning Grant Program
May 2024 
The transition to 100 percent zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales by 2035 will require massive investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure throughout California and in other states that have adopted the same phaseout targets. Ensuring that California’s priority populations are included in and benefit from the ZEV transition in a timely manner will rely heavily on proactive strategies that deliver equitable access to public charging infrastructure.
As part of our joint Equitable Mobility Initiative, CLEE and Prospect Silicon Valley convened an advisory group of experts in climate and public finance, clean mobility, and city infrastructure investment to develop innovative proposals to address this challenge. Our resulting report outlines the top financing and revenue strategies identified by the group to bring city-scale and mobility infrastructure solutions to fruition.
Read the report: Funding, Financing, & Investment Strategies to Advance Clean Mobility Infrastructure in Priority Communities
Scoping the Public Health Impacts of Wildfire: A Primer for Stakeholders
May 2024 
Wildfire smoke presents a population-wide health risk in California. Catastrophic wildfires are fueling complex and extensive public health impacts, including air pollution-related mortality and a growing toll on mental health. These risks result in hundreds of millions of dollars in estimated losses and carry stark environmental justice implications for vulnerable populations. At the same time, the policy landscape addressing this issue remains siloed on the state and federal level, posing challenges to integrated policy development and implementation. Further research is needed into many areas of the issue, most notably the comparative health impacts of prescribed fire and avenues for building community resilience.
This scoping report, in partnership with the Climate & Wildfire Institute, offers a primer for stakeholders interested in the intersections of wildland fire and public health. The report investigates key issues in the physical and mental health impacts of wildfire, provides an overview of the current state and federal policy landscape, and presents recommendations for future resilience.
Read the report: Scoping the Public Health Impacts of Wildfire: A Primer for Stakeholders
Offshore Wind & Community Benefits Agreements in California: CBA Examples
April 2024
California’s goal of achieving 25 gigawatts of offshore wind electricity by 2045 will help the State meet its carbon neutrality target and will also have transformative effects on the State’s economy and communities. Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are tools that can enable local communities to have a voice in the development of new projects and ensure that the state’s transition to offshore wind creates sustainable, equitable economic opportunity, and local investment. CLEE’s report, Offshore Wind & Community Benefits Agreements in California: CBA Examples, highlights the community-oriented measures and CBAs in California’s existing offshore wind leases and presents select CBA examples and community benefits provisions from the real estate and manufacturing sectors, as well as from east coast and UK wind farm projects. These examples can provide important models and lessons for offshore wind development in California. The report also lifts up important considerations and elements—such as CBA structure, process and representation, and oversight and accountability—that can help ensure future California CBAs are rooted in impacted communities and reflect stakeholders’ values and needs.
Read the report: Offshore Wind & Community Benefits Agreements in California: CBA Examples
Watch the Lunch & Learn Webinar: California Offshore Wind & Community Benefits Agreements: CBA Examples Webinar
Case Studies: City Public & Curbside Charging Strategies
March 2024
As California and other states transition to one hundred percent zero-emission new vehicle (ZEV) sales by 2035, local governments will play a crucial role in addressing inequities in the ZEV transition. Curbside and public right-of-way (PROW) locations are a key venue for city governments to lead electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure development and deliver a more equitable charging network for residents. Publicly accessible areas may provide particularly useful charging options for residents in underserved communities who are likely to lack access to charging in private driveways or garages, in multifamily dwelling parking lots, or at workplaces.
Our case study report, informed by interviews with city leaders and EV charging project directors, gathers insights from city programs that are leading efforts to expand charging infrastructure in the PROW. This policy brief is intended to guide local leaders as they plan and execute public EV charging infrastructure development with a focus on equitable investment.
Read the report: Case Studies: City Public & Curbside Charging Strategies
California’s 2021 Year in Fire: Fire and Resilience Impacts Beyond Acres Burned
February 2024
How are wildfires impacting California, and how are those impacts evolving? A wide variety of wildfire impacts are either not tracked or not reported, thereby limiting our ability to make informed decisions in wildfire mitigation and recovery efforts. And this truncated access to essential information and data has the potential to lead us to unsustainable solutions; for example, if we judge wildfire impacts by the number of acres burned each year and focus primarily on reducing that number, the rational response might be to bolster fire suppression. To do so, however, would ignore a wide range of other social and ecological impacts and the opportunity to improve overall ecological and community health and resilience.
The California’s Year in Fire project, in partnership with the Climate & Wildfire Institute and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, advances a framework for a more complete picture of evolving impacts and consequences, and provides more robust data points to inform meaningful solutions.
Read the report: California’s 2021 Year in Fire: Fire and Resilience Impacts Beyond Acres Burned
January 2024
California’s goal to eliminate internal combustion engine sales by 2035 poses challenges for lower- and moderate-income residents, hindering their access to electric vehicles (EVs). Barriers include limited EV charging stations, exacerbated by lower home ownership and inadequate grid infrastructure in lower-income communities.
To address this, UC Berkeley School of Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) partnered with the City of Watsonville. Due to its location, demographics, and ambitious policy goals, Watsonville represents a potential model and case study for other cities around the state grappling with how to boost EV charging infrastructure. CLEE conducted stakeholder interviews and a convening in Watsonville in May 2023, and developed a set of policy recommendations for both state and local entities to accelerate investment in EV charging infrastructure in Watsonville, which could inform other cities facing similar challenges and seeking to meet state targets and residents’ needs.
Read the report: Charging up the Central Coast: Policy solutions to improve electric vehicle charging access in Watsonville
January 2024
California has increasingly emphasized efforts to develop voluntary agreements (VAs) with water users as a means of achieving regulatory goals in certain watersheds. In theory, a VA can combine the protectiveness of a regulatory backstop with the creativity and flexibility of a negotiated deal to produce outcomes as good as, or better than, those achievable through strict application of regulatory requirements alone. However, reality has not always measured up to this ideal. This policy paper uses the Bay-Delta watershed as a case study to inform five principles to guide the appropriate use and evaluation of VAs.
Read the report: Five Guiding Principles for Effective Voluntary Agreements: A Case Study on VAs for Water and Habitat in California’s Bay-Delta Watershed