New Report Provides Comprehensive Plan to Meet U.S. Net-Zero Goals and Ensure Fair and Equitable Energy Transition
New Report Provides Comprehensive Plan to Meet U.S. Net-Zero Goals and Ensure Fair and Equitable Energy Transition
News Release | October 17, 2023
WASHINGTON A
new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provides a broad set of recommendations that form a comprehensive plan to put the U.S. on a pathway to realize its net-zero carbon emissions goals by 2050 and ensure that all Americans can benefit from a fair and equitable energy transition.
The second of two reports examining the nations transition to a decarbonized energy system, the new report focuses on gaps and barriers to implementation of net-zero policies, emphasizing the need for a strong social contract during the decades-long transition. The first report provided a technical and federal policy blueprint for the next 10 years, and its recommendations helped shape climate policies included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, and Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Recent energy and climate policies are revolutionary and unprecedented in both scale and scope, putting the U.S. on or close to a path to zero net emissions by mid-century. They are also designed to realize a fair and equitable energy transition, improve human health, and revitalize U.S. manufacturing, said Stephen Pacala, Frederick D. Petrie Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University and chair of the committee that wrote the report. With so much at stake, the main challenge now is effective implementation of these policies. This report addresses how the nation can best overcome the barriers that will slow or prevent a just energy transition, and also fills some gaps in the existing policy portfolio.
As we continue to understand the urgency of the climate crisis and its unequal impacts, equity must be at the center of both research and new policies, said Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences. This landmark report, part of an Academies-wide effort called Climate Crossroads, is a prime example of how scientists and science institutions like the National Academies can help shape policy change. This report encapsulates our promise to advise leaders who are looking for evidence-based equity and climate solutions.