Climate + Energy
The future is clean. Let’s build it.
The transition is urgent—and possible. That’s the north star of Sightline’s Climate and Energy program, which is accelerating Cascadia’s shift to clean, reliable, and affordable electricity and advancing its resilience to a changing climate.
Our team delivers the policy ideas and analysis to help lawmakers and advocates chart a path to healthier homes and workplaces, cleaner air and water, and communities safer from wildfires.
Toward a brighter climate future, together.
Featured priorities
⚡️ Building a clean electric grid for a renewables-powered region, including removing the barriers to new transmission capacity
🏭 Phasing out gas in homes and buildings for healthier communities and ratepayer protections
🔥 Preparing for a more wildfire-risky future with smart strategies to protect people and reduce long-term dangers
Report | Fire Hazard: The Mounting Costs of Northwest Sprawl
In most Northwest states, population is growing fastest in the places most likely to burn. A Sightline report examines the costly intersection of wildfire risk and sprawling development patterns across Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
About one in ten people in the Northwest live in census tracts facing high or very high wildfire hazard
Get the latest
Hear directly from our Climate and Energy experts, including behind-the-scenes context and analysis (delivered approx. monthly).
SubscribeLatest research + analysis
Climate Is Stuck, Housing Isn’t
Why apartments may be the most powerful domestic climate move of the Trump years.
Latest articles
Climate Is Stuck, Housing Isn’t
Washington State Did Something Big for the Power Grid—Oregon Could Be Next
Four Ways to Get More Power Lines—and Clean Power—for Oregonians
The Northwest Hasn’t Learned the Lessons of WPPSS (“Whoops”)
Meet the Team
Emily Moore
Senior Director of Climate and Energy
Emily leads Sightline’s work transitioning Cascadia away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner energy sources.
Kelly Trumbull
Senior Researcher, Climate and Energy
Kelly’s research supports Cascadia’s transition away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner energy sources.
Ricardo Pelai
Researcher, Climate and Energy
Ricardo’s research focuses on accelerating Cascadia’s transition from fossil fuels to a future powered by abundant clean energy.
Laura Feinstein
Energy Policy Research Fellow
Laura is a fellow with Sightline Institute, focused on energy policy, particularly natural gas infrastructure and building decarbonization.
Our research in the news
Pacific Power, PGE raise residential electricity rates again for Oregon customers
Oregon Capital Chronicle
Environment and climate bills that passed and failed in WA’s legislative session
Washington State Standard
Seattle’s climate and housing efforts bottlenecked by … power poles?
The Seattle Times
Resources for Journalists
Our researchers can provide commentary, interviews, story ideas, background information, or serve as expert sources across our program areas. If we can’t comment on an issue ourselves, chances are we know someone who can.
Climate change is costing the Northwest big, causing suffocating wildfires, devastating droughts, and inhospitable marine ecosystems. But for more than a decade, Cascadian communities have stood as a bulwark against the fossil fuel industry’s aggressive schemes for dozens of coal, oil, and gas projects. Now, the region boasts some of the world’s most ambitious climate commitments and faces the urgent and enormous challenge of seeing them to fruition.
Sightline’s Climate and Energy program focuses on achieving that vision, including by building out vast amounts of clean energy infrastructure, retiring old and polluting energy systems, and transitioning millions of homes and businesses off of gas-fueled appliances and infrastructure—and doing all of this equitably and responsibly.
Learn more about our Climate + Energy research projects below.
Building Cascadia’s clean electric grid
Research and policy recommendations to remove the barriers to new electric transmission capacity in the Northwest.
Research and policy recommendations to prune the gas system, scale electrification, and protect ratepayers.
Myth-busting hydrogen and renewable natural gas
Research and policy recommendations to prune the gas system, scale electrification, and protect ratepayers.