California Foundation On The Environment And The Economy

CFEE conducted three study travel projects in 2024. The projects facilitate real life experiences and relationship building to help provide for more successful policy making.CFEE conducted a study travel project to the United Kingdom studying the partnership between our two countries in supply lines and energy security among other topics. We met with Llyods of London to examine the need for California to update insurance protocols to respond to a shrinking insurance market and what this global does to set rates, we toured the countrys new largest construction site for the Sizewell C nuclear power plant while examining the workings of the active Sizewell B power plant before moving on to see the UKs efforts to capitalize on the need for small modular nuclear reactors. Sustainable aviation fuel was another key technological item explored and studied. The UKs efforts in offshore wind are world leading and provided a snapshot of what California may need to prepare for as it explores the same opportunities.The second study travel project was held in Colorado and New Mexico, and it focused on the circular economy and recycling. The trip featured best practices on legislation with meetings with state legislators. Our program highlighted textile recycling and innovative reuse programs for major consumer producers. We toured cutting edge aluminum canning operations and learned about the long-life span of the cans when properly recaptured from the waste stream. A visit to an Indian Pueblo brought to life the challenges with recycling and reuse in a highly rural community. And lastly, as construction booms for datacenters we learned how can they and other easy to build warehouses can take advantage of carbon sequestration in concrete materials and strengthen the composite. Our third tour brought CFEE to Taiwan and Vietnam to learn about the challenges in both hyper capitalist nations despite the very different political realities of both. We met with high-speed rail officials and rode the rail to see the experience firsthand before learning about Taiwans cutting-edge electric scooter delivery and rider companies. CFEE also met with the countrys top disaster preparedness administrator to see lessons learned from past earthquakes, floods, and other climate challenges. Solar panel recycling is a looming issue for California and Taiwan has an elegant technology to share for this vexing problem that allows valuable composite materials to be recaptured and reused. Vietnam provided a window into supply chains and production for a major EV manufacturer that is growing internationally while building their own electric charging network in country.