☔ april 2024

Hi everyone,

Future CATF Initiative

First, a big thank you to all staff who responded to the survey and who volunteered to support this initiative by serving on staff committees. We are excited to get this important work underway!

The Future CATF initiative will empower staff to collaboratively develop consistent but gradual improvements that make our work more efficient and impactful, and our culture stronger. The Future CATF Staff Committees are not expected to figure out everything all at once, rather they will take on a few important but manageable priorities and put forward recommendations for action that will lead to improvement in our processes, strategies, and culture.  

This week we are reviewing the responses and aim to share committee selections the week of May 6th and then we will host kick off meetings for all committees before the end of May.  

2024 Budget Update

Budgets have been shared with the budget holders for all teams. Important things to note: 

• On April 2nd, CATF’s Board of Directors approved the 2024 Organization budget as recommended by the Board’s Audit and Finance Committee. The budget includes $42.3M of expenses supported by revenues of $30.5M and a $9M net carryforward. 
• CATF’s budget is made up of 29 individual budgets representing our programs, regional advocacy teams, and functional areas.  
• Budgeted headcount is capped at 132 FTEs – this includes the current active searches in development and senior executive leadership positions. Future new hires will be based on organizational needs and corresponding revenues. Backfilling positions will not be automatic and will need discussion. 
• The 2024 budget faces heightened constraints across all major spending categories (personnel, consultants/professional services, and travel/meetings). It was developed to ensure sustainability through 2025 and beyond, and to the extent possible within these constraints, ensure each teams’ ability to deliver on their highest priority efforts. 
• The fundraising effort this year is focused on fully covering our existing costs. There will be limited ability to add unbudgeted expenses in any major spending categories. 

Sincerely,  

Armond

If last month’s newsletter got lost in your inbox, you can find a copy here. And if you have any comments, questions, or feedback, please reach out to Kara Hunt.

HR, Development, Project Management, IT, and Operations News & Updates

Human Resources

For a full list of current CATF staff, take a look at our staff directory. You can find your coworkers’ information by last name, team, or vertical.

Present Your Work!

Please sign up to present on your work at an all-staff watercooler! These presentations can range from overviews of your team’s work to deep dives into a specific solution, to an explanation of the policy landscape in a specific region, or anything else you think may be interesting to staff. They do not need to be long or formal. It’s all about sharing your expertise and work with the CATF community! The link to sign up can be found in the CATF Team General channel under the “Forms” tab, and please feel free to sign up well in advance of your planned presentation date. Watch a recording from this month's watercooler here.

new staff this month

Staff Promotions

Following our salary adjustment process, we are thrilled to announce the well-deserved promotions of several CATF staff members. Please join us in congratulating these folks for their hard work and commitment to advancing CATF’s mission: 

Updates

• All staff should have attended Performance Management Training. If you haven’t, please email Nawel Saady Khelladi to schedule a session. You can find the presentation and the form here.  
• The HR team met with each team to introduce CATF’s new salary structure. Additional information is saved in Teams under the file General/Human Resources/Salary Structure.  
• U.S. Open Enrollment for Benefits is happening now. Staff have until May 9th to make any changes to their current benefit plans. There is an upcoming information session on Thursday, May 2nd. Please reach out to the HR team with any questions. 

Development

Grant Annoucement

This month, the Quadrature Climate Foundation approved CATF’s $9M / three-year EU advocacy grant! 

This news comes after well over two years of extensive work from the EU advocacy, executive, and finance teams (among many others) to get this over the finish line, and this partnership has shifted and evolved repeatedly in that time. Despite all these challenges, this is tremendous news – and is a massive vote of confidence in support of CATF's work in Europe and beyond to advance an options-based, zero-emissions future. 

new team member

The Development Team is thrilled to welcome Asa Ackerly as our new Senior Associate, Foundation Giving! Asa will be working closely with Harlan to steward relationships with a portfolio of foundations and provide critical funder relationship management, grant writing, and program development support. We are continuing to recruit an additional Senior Associate, Foundation Giving to join the team. 

Please help us recruit for our two open positions! 

Project Management

Important Updates:  

• Our Project Management Resources Hub is officially live! Here you can find a plethora of project management resources, including:  
  • Monday.com how-to's 
  • Tips & tricks for managing your project throughout its entire lifecycle  
  • Project management templates, including CATF’s Project Charter  

There are hyperlinks throughout the homepage, and you can navigate to the tool bar at the top of the web page for access to more materials. Please ping Lindsey Popken ([email protected]) with any questions or content requests!  

• Check out this new PMT resource on enhancing team collaboration (with an emphasis on remote work environments and inclusive practices).

IT

• Salesforce Update: Salesforce audit is underway with Prolocity (our Salesforce Consultant). Once the audit is completed over the coming weeks, we hope to get our new Development staff into the system before resuming work on the Programs side of Salesforce. 
• Intranet Update: We are working on a company intranet in Microsoft SharePoint. We have our survey results and are grateful for the 41 respondents. The CATF Intranet will be a repository of company information and updates to begin with, and we hope to add functionality to enable better internal communication as we move forward. 
• Endpoint Management: Endpoint Management deployment is underway; we are onboarding groups into our JAMF management system for Apple after finishing our Intune deployment.  Endpoint Management will allow the CATF IT team to manage the laptop fleet remotely, and handle issues such as lost or stolen equipment more effectively.  

Operations

We are approaching the time of year when more people are taking time off. Reminder: Set-up your email autoreply and add your time off to the Out of Office Calendar. 

Upcoming CATF Holidays

See here for the full holiday lists for all countries.

• Wednesday, May 1: Labour Day (Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Spain)  
• Monday, May 6: Orthodox Easter Monday (Greece) 
• Monday, May 6: Early May Bank Holiday (United Kingdom)  
• Thursday, May 9: Ascension Day (Netherlands, Norway) 
• Friday, May 17: Norway Constitution Day (Norway)  
• Monday, May 20: Whit Monday (Netherlands, Norway) 
• Monday, May 27: Netherlands King’s Birthday (Netherlands)  
• Monday, May 27: Spring Bank Holiday (United Kingdom) 
• Monday, May 27: Memorial Day (United States)  

Events & Meetings

What's Happening at CATF? 

Find out more by viewing the 2024 Events Master Calendar

• Reminder: Please add your speaking engagement, sponsorship, exhibit, webinar, or CATF-hosted event or meeting to the calendar. All staff should have access. 
• To start planning a new event or meeting, please review the Intake Form and FAQ. This is required for any event/meeting where CATF has a hosting role.

Staff Retreat Updates

• Sign up for optional Wellness Activities, including yoga, walks, runs, and sound bath meditation.  
• Add a song to the CATF playlist!  
• Bookmark the retreat website and click “follow” on the top right of the page to stay up to date with announcements.  

Thank you for your continued engagement in our retreat design! The deadline to submit retreat content suggestions has passed, but please email [email protected] at any time for additional questions or feedback. We appreciate everyone who took the time to make a submission; the Events team will follow up as appropriate in the coming weeks for those selected to produce content. 

Event Operations

Important Updates 

As the organization right fits its staffing and budgeting realities, the events team has made some important updates to its processes.  

• The Event Intake Form has been updated for efficiency and migrated to Monday.com. This is a requirement for any CATF-hosted (or co-hosted) external function – of any size, scope, scale, or format – and should be submitted with a minimum 12-week lead time. This lead time helps CATF manage its costs (travel being the biggest) while ensuring constituents have enough notice to attend, and our teams have enough time to craft exceptional experiences worth the investment.  
• The approval threshold for events/meetings has changed from $25k to $10k. This is meant to be inclusive of all costs associated with the function (including staff travel, lodging, meals, AV, rentals, etc.). A budget template is available here and linked in the intake form.  

Event Spotlight

Three Seas Summit 2024  

Can Central and Eastern Europe become a powerhouse of innovation and resilience in the face of changing geopolitical currents? The Three Seas Summit in Vilnius charters the path forward with cautious optimism, but regional collaboration and financing the energy transition are key. Read the recent blog by Sara Albares and Tamara Lagurashvili on their key takeaways from the Summit.  

Upcoming Events

⚠️ The events tracker is on Monday.com! View it here.

• May 8: European Economic Conference in Katowice, Poland (Katowice, Poland) 
• May 14-15: EUKI Conference 2024 (Berlin, Germany)  
• May 21-22: Geothermal Transition Summit, North America (Houston, TX) 
• May 22: Getting to 24/7 Clean Power in California (San Francisco, CA)  
• May 22-24: Striving for Stability in a Highly Uncertain Energy World (Athens, Greece)  
• May 28: The Future of Energy in Romania and the Southeast European Region (Bucharest, Romania)  
• May 28-29: Future Cleantech Festival 2024 (Remscheid, Germany)  
• May 29: Conférence en ligne sur le biométhane en France et en Allemagne (Virtual)  
• May 28-30: Iceland Geothermal Conference (Reykjavik, IS) 

Program & Regional Advocacy
Team Updates

Highlights

• Following consistent efforts from the Legal and U.S. Advocacy teams, EPA finalized two rules to reduce pollution from the power sector. EPA finalized stringent carbon pollution emission guidelines for existing coal-fired and performance standards for new gas-fired plants and strengthened the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule for coal-fired and power plants.
• The Clean Energy Infrastructure Deployment team released a series of reports this month focused on federal transmission permitting and clean energy siting.  
  • In partnership with the Niskanen Center, CATF launched Evidence-Based Recommendations for Overcoming Barriers to Federal Transmission Permitting. The report outlines an evidentiary record of 37 transmission lines and recommends executive and legislative actions to improve permitting outcomes. Watch the webinar launch here. 
  • After a yearlong effort, CATF released An Exploration of Options and Opportunities for the San Joaquin Valley’s Clean Energy Future. The report underscores the potential for clean energy to stimulate the Valley’s economy, create diverse job opportunities, and ensure equitable distribution of benefits across the region. Natalie Manitius and Alex Breckel will host an event for CATF staff to review the project scope, outcomes, and lessons learned from 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET on Thursday, May 2. 
  • Natalie Manitius also wrote a blog exploring the potential of dual-use solar in the San Joaquin Valley.  
  • Finally, CATF commissioned a report with E3 on barriers to renewable energy development in select states. Read Nelson Falkenburg’s accompanying blog here: New E3 report identifies recommendations and best practices for state-level renewable energy siting reform
• NEW! The U.S. Implementation team, in collaboration with the Communications team, published and revamped the U.S. Implementation Resource Hub! The new and improved hub shares enhanced resources and tools to support the next phase of implementation, including an updated map built by Jess Wymer – Built to last: Climate progress near you 
• The Carbon Capture team created a series of resources on carbon capture deployment in the U.S. and EU, publishing the carbon capture and storage in the Midwest and Louisiana fact sheets, and carbon capture and storage deployment in Poland and Portugal fact sheets.
  • The Carbon Capture and Zero-Carbon Fuels teams published a report and blog on the geologic CO2 storage opportunities and policy needs in Pennsylvania.
  • Codie Rossi presented CATF’s Poland research at the CCS Europe Roadshow in Warsaw at Poland’s first CCS conference in Poznan. 
  • Angie Seligman spoke on a panel at the CO2NNECT conference on communicating about CO2 storage, joined DOE staff for a tour of the ADM CCS ethanol facility in Decatur, Illinois, and provided oral testimony on a Colorado senate bill on CCS.
• The EU Advocacy and Zero-Carbon Fuels teams continued CATF’s work in Poland, with Alex Carr moderating a panel and CEE Director Tamara Lagurashvili speaking on a panel at the Hydrogen Valleys Summit. The team also published the Clean Hydrogen for Poland’s Decarbonisation fact sheet. 
• In collaborative effort between the U.S. Advocacy, Zero-Carbon Fuels, and Transportation Decarbonization teams, CATF published IRA clean energy tax credits: Issue briefs on Implementation focused on the 45V clean hydrogen production tax credit and 40B, the sustainable aviation fuel tax credit. The U.S. Zero-Carbon Fuels team also published a blog summarizing the team’s comment to Treasury's proposed guidance on 45V.
• The Advanced Nuclear Energy program is getting a makeover! The team is organizing a strategy session that will take place in May in Washington, D.C. to recalibrate the new team and develop a work plan for 2024/2025. Also on the Advanced Nuclear Energy front: 
  • Lee Beck and Malwina Qvist spoke on a virtual panel organized by the International Energy Forum on Key Considerations for Deployment of Small Modular Reactors. 
  • The Advanced Nuclear Energy team and European Advocacy team submitted a consultation response on alternative applications of nuclear power in the UK. 
  • The Advanced Nuclear Energy team is kicking off a project on nuclear energy ecosystem/stakeholders mapping. The project will focus on Europe in the initial phase.   
• The European Advocacy team shared key policy recommendations for the EU and UK for the next legislative term. Also in Europe: 
  • The European Parliament officially adopted EU CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles, following a year and half long effort from the Transportation Decarbonization team, led by Maja Pozvek. 
  • The EU Parliament approved the regulation on the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), echoing calls from CATF and Bellona to include a reference to the role of various modes of transporting captured carbon storage and expediating decarbonization measures for industry. Alessia Virone  wrote a blog on this positive step forward. 
  • The team also published a policy brief providing insight on how meaningful public engagement should be held within the framework of Europe's National Energy and Climate Plans. 
• The Superhot Rock team’s efforts were reflected in a number of wins, including BLM adopting CATEX regulations based in part on an RFI from CATF and the Geothermal Technologies Office’s calling on DOE national laboratories to pursue research and development to directly aid in advancing and developing the U.S. critical material supply chain.
  • Terra Rogers spoke at the first-ever International Geothermal Association finance summit event for geothermal energy.
• The Methane Pollution Prevention team submitted written testimony to the UK’s House of Lords Select Committee on Environment and Climate Change, who launched an official inquiry into methane emissions in March. Brandon Locke and Rebecca Tremain also wrote a blog on the potential for a UK import standard. 
• The Transportation Decarbonization team won a major legal win in Ohio v. EPA, with a D.C. Circuit ruling in our favor to allow EPA to reinstate its waiver to California’s Advanced Clean Car Program. 
• The Land Systems team hosted Joe Sagues for their April Seminar Series present Emerging BiCRS Technologies.
  • Steph Herbstritt attended the Penn State Biorenewable Symposium and was a panelist on the Morning Panel Discussion: Biorenewables Impacts: Upping the Up-side.   

All program & advocacy updates →

Full List of Publications This Month

Blogs

• The EU’s climate challenge of 2024: Tackling the planning gap head-on – Alejandra Muñoz Castañer 
• Hydrogen can play a role in decarbonization, but Treasury needs to get 45V right – Hagan Han, Emily Kent, Veronica Saltzman, Rachel Starr 
• Fusion regulation must reflect the real hazards 
• Adding to the energy mix: Fusion breakthroughs lead to new options – Sehila Gonzalez de Vicente 
• Releasing the potential of fusion energy – Sehila Gonzalez de Vicente 
• Understanding carbon capture and storage prospects in Pennsylvania – Sam Bailey, John Carlson, Ben Grove 
• Advancing regional resilience through interconnectivity: Key takeaways from Three Seas Summit 2024 – Sara Albares, Tamara Lagurashvili 
• The state of siting: New E3 report identifies recommendations and best practices for state-level renewable energy siting reform – Nelson Falkenburg 
• The UK's methane opportunity – Brandon Locke, Rebecca Tremain 
• TEN-T and CO2 to permanent storage – a positive step for Europe’s industrial decarbonisation plan – Alessia Virone 
• Dual-use solar: An exploration of potential in the San Joaquin Valley – Natalie Manitius 
• Making sense of our options to decarbonize aviation - Tom Walker 

Press Statements

• D.C. Circuit reaffirms a critical and longstanding component of the Clean Air Act, allowing California to move forward with program to reduce emissions and air pollution from cars and trucks 
• New report finds California’s San Joaquin Valley can uniquely benefit from the clean energy transition 
• EPA finalizes strong carbon pollution standards for existing coal- and new gas-fired power plants 
• EPA strengthens standards for hazardous air pollutant emissions from power plants 
• Successful aviation decarbonization will require multiple fuel sources, finds CATF report 

Reports

• An Exploration of Options and Opportunities for the San Joaquin Valley’s Clean Energy Future 
• Evidence-Based Recommendations for Overcoming Barriers to Federal Transmission Permitting 
• Colombian Waste Sector Methane Analysis 
• A New Look at Carbon Capture and Storage Opportunities in Pennsylvania 
• A Vision for the EU Net-Zero Transition 
• A solutions-based approach to the UK’s net-zero transition 
• Decarbonizing Aviation: Enabling Technologies for a Net-Zero Future 

Policy Briefs

• Public Participation in the Updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) 

Fact SHeets

• Carbon Capture and Storage in the Midwest 
• Carbon Capture and Storage in Louisiana 
• Clean Hydrogen for Poland’s Decarbonisation 
• Clean Hydrogen in Louisiana 
• A Vision for Poland’s Clean Energy Transition (Report Summary) 
• Decarbonising Poland’s Power Systems: A Scenario-Based Evaluation (Report Summary)   

issue briefs

• Fixed upstream emission rates undermine the climate benefits of section 45V hydrogen production tax credit 
• Carbon intensities of qualified clean hydrogen for 45V tax credits should be determined on a kilogram-by-kilogram approach 
• Systemwide emissions and the importance of the three pillars for section 45V hydrogen production tax credit 
• Alternative incrementality compliance pathways for section 45V hydrogen production tax credit 
• GREET underestimates indirect land use change, undermining the climate benefits of section 40B 
• Accounting for soil organic carbon for section 40B eligibility is neither aligned with statute or technologically feasible 

Comms Corner

Adjustments to CATF’s Design Process

As of January 1, 2024, we have moved a large share of our creative design work in-house. Under our new system, the Comms team centrally manages design requests from across the organization and determines which projects CATF will execute on with our existing capacity and which are better suited for our retained external creative service provider, 5IVE. This change allows us to reduce the number of retained hours (i.e., reduce costs), collaborate more efficiently with requesting parties on outputs, improve tracking, and build in-house design capacity within the CATF Communications team. Please see Troy’s email from February 22 for further details, and a few helpful links are below:  

• Project Request Form 
• Content Guide 
• General Timing Guidelines 

Adjustments to CATF’s Report Rollout Process

As of April 25, 2024, the Communications team has migrated the Report Rollout Form to Monday.com. This migration will allow our process to remain centralized, and it will ensure that our Report Rollout process is efficient. If you have any questions, please reach out to your Communications Manager. Please also see our CATF Communications Protocols. 

CATF in the News

• CATF’s efforts around EPA’s final power plant rule received extensive coverage: 
  • Ann Weeks shared CATF’s legal insights in Politico on what key components are needed in the rule to effectively reduce emissions.  
  • Frank Sturges shared CATF’s legal perspective on the evolving EPA rule in Politico and support for the final rule in Politico, Canary Media, Inside Climate News, Cipher News, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 
  • John Thompson spoke about power producers implementing carbon capture technology in Politico with Frank Sturges, and Frank shared CATF’s opinion on how the EPA rules will limit coal power plant emissions in Engineering News-Record.  
• Michael Dioha joined a PBS Energy Switch episode on “Energy for Africa,” highlighting the specific challenges African countries face in balancing the imperatives to decarbonize while simultaneously prioritizing economic development, and the need for regionally tailored climate solutions to successfully expand energy access in Africa. 
• CATF’s reports on contextualizing federal electric transmission permitting and overcoming barriers to federal transmission permitting were cited in The New York Times.  
• The Superhot Rock Team kept the momentum going for geothermal energy, with Terra Rogers featured in The Guardian.
• While Jonathan Banks shared his insight on the global profitability of reducing methane emissions in Chemistry World, CATF’s thought leadership on reducing methane emissions was spotlighted in the Global Investigative Journalism Network, showcasing CATF’s and RMI’s WasteMAP tracker tool. 
• Brandon Locke and Fernanda Ferreira were featured in Carbon Pulse on the EU clamping down on methane emissions. 
• CATF’s thought leadership on the EU’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) regulations was heavily featured in Gasworld and highlighted in Offshore Energy. 

View all press coverage →

Staff Pet Photo of the Month

Ollie is Harlan Cutshall’s mom's dog – she got him when she became an empty nester. Harlan spent a lot of time during COVID lockdowns living at home with her, and their daily walks with Ollie were one of the few things that kept him sane. He's got so much personality – and loves few things more than passing out in front of the fireplace after a "long" day (and by "long", he means at 7:00pm). 

If you have a pet you’d be willing to share, please submit a pet photo for the newsletter! You can do so by filling out this Teams Form.

That’s all for this month. If you made it this far — thanks for reading!