Accelerating Decarbonization of the U.S. Energy System (2021) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 3-32
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Light-duty transportation and home heating are ready to deliver significant emissions reductions because low-cost, reliable, and clean electricity can be used as fuel for electric vehicles and efficient heat pumps. Substantial improvements in energy efficiency are achievable across all sectors, from buildings to transportation and industry, and can help to meet future demands for energy services costeffectively.
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The country's leadership and innovation capabilities can have an even greater global impact by helping build a suite of affordable clean energy and climate mitigation solutions for export and use around the world. A transition to net zero in the United States would nearly eliminate adverse health impacts of fossil fuel use, which may be responsible for half a million premature deaths or more over the next decade -- public health impacts that fall disproportionately on low-income communities and communities of color.
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The committee understands that reaching net zero will require addressing all emissions sectors and GHGs. Its final report will include agriculture emissions, expanded treatment of technologies (e.g., hydrogen, low-carbon fuels, and negative emissions technologies)
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S . E N E R G Y S Y S T E M GOALS AND POLICIES The committee agreed on the following five technological goals and four socioeconomic goals for net-zero policy during the 2020s: Technological Goals • Invest in energy efficiency and productivity.
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Note that energy efficiency in transportation, buildings, and industry overlaps with electrification, because switching to electric heat pumps and 7
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Some new gas-fired capacity in certain regions could be built during the 2020s to replace aging assets, including coal, because it is more economical than coal regardless of age and can be used to replace aging assets and where coal retirements require replacement capacity for reliability purposes, and where new gas capacity is prepared to retire by 2050 or retrofit to combust hydrogen or be equipped with carbon capture. Plan, permit, and build critical infrastructure.
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The committee proposes a tripling of federal investment in clean energy RD&D to provide new technological options, to reduce costs of existing options, and to better understand how to manage a socially just energy transition. Innovations that would fundamentally enhance the net-zero transition include next-generation energy systems for transportation, buildings, and industry; improved energy storage and firm low-carbon electricity generation options to complement variable renewable electricity; low-cost zero-carbon fuels including hydrogen from the electrolysis of water or biomass gasification; lower-cost carbon capture and use technologies; and lower-cost direct air capture.
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The transition to net zero provides an opportu nity to revitalize U.S. manufacturing, construction, and commercialization sectors in clean energy and energy efficiency, while providing a net increase in jobs paying higher wages than the national average.
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emissions budget covers CO2 and other GHG emissions and calls for a target of net zero in 2050 along with regular review of emissions progress and the tracking of specified milestones for technological and social goals. The committee considers 11
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The recommendations include the establishment of a 2-year federal National Transition Task Force to evaluate the long-term implications of the transition for communities, workers, and families and identify strategies for ensuring a just transition, and a White House-level Office of Equitable Energy Transitions to act on the recommendations of the task force, establish just transition targets, and track progress in achieving them by federal programs. The primary policy to help communities achieve new opportunities or mitigate impending damages is the establishment of a new independent National Transition Corporation.
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By offering federal support for net-zero RD&D and early market deployment, the policies proposed in Table S.1 will unleash innovation from many sources, from universities and federal labs, to companies competing to capture emerging markets, and to a parallel search by thousands of communities for the best routes to a just and beneficial transition. Policies Targeting Specific Economic Sectors or Goals The proposed carbon price would not be large enough during the 2020s to incentivize the deployment of some non-emitting technologies that have relatively high marginal cost and yet must be deployed early, either because long-lived capital stock needs replacement (i.e., a cement plant)
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For transportation, these would specify fleetwide emissions standards for new vehicle sales that drop to zero in time for the on-road fleet to meet net-zero goals in 2050, appliance standards for the electrification of building heating and cooling, and policies for accelerating the development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. To increase the energy efficiency of buildings during the 2020s, the committee calls for weatherization, retrofits, and other support for low-income households, which would also further diversity and fairness goals, as well as emissions caps and efficiency standards for all federal buildings.
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These include the substantial avoided health impacts from air pollution within the United States, new economic and employment opportunities, significant downward pressure on global oil prices, and, if other countries also meet similar emissions reductions goals, the avoidance of a substantial portion of planet-altering climate change-related damages to the country that are not already inevitable even with a transition to net zero by midcentury. These could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually if estimated health benefits come to fruition and offset some, all, or more than the cost of the transition.
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Budget is central for emissions budget reaching Congress imposing emissions net zero by 2050. discipline, although any consequences for missing the target must be implemented through other policies.
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Establish an independent Congressional $20 billion in funding Primary means to mediate National Transition appropriation over 10 years. harms that occur during Corporation to ensure transition, including support coordination and funding in for communities that lose the areas of job losses, critical a critical employer, support location infrastructure, and for displaced workers, equitable access to economic abandoned site remediation, opportunities and wealth, and opportunities for and to create public energy communities to invest in a equity indicators.
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for electricity generation, designed to reach 75% zero emissions electricity by 2030 and decline in emissions intensity to net-zero emissions by 2050. Set national standards for Congress None.
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GSA to set a cap on existing actions on new and existing and new federal buildings building energy efficiency, that declines by 3% per year. two by DOE/Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
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by private companies, Federal Reserve to use climate government agencies, and related risks in financial stress the Federal Reserve. Private tests.
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Establish a federal Green Congressional Capitalized with Additional requirements Bank to finance low- or zero- authorization $30 billion, plus include public reporting of carbon technology, business and $3 billion per year until both energy equity analyses creation, and infrastructure. appropriation 2030.
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. Require fair for DOE and facilitate use of existing participation in regional public participation measures FERC rights-of-way; finance transmission planning and to ensure meaningful build through Green siting activities.
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Plan and assess the Congressional $50 million to Modeling studies and requirements for national authorization Department of other analysis indicate CO2 transport network, and Transportation (DOT) with that significant amounts of characterize geologic storage appropriation other agencies involved negative emissions will be reservoirs, and establish to multiple for 5-year planning plus needed to meet net-zero permitting rules.f agencies $50 million for block emissions.
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loan guarantees from Green Bank and Export Import Bank.
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community input, and integrates equity indicators.i DOE and NSF DOE funds studies of leadership diversity of policy evaluation at companies applying for $25 million per year public investments. DOE to and regional innovation report on equity impacts and hubs at $10 million diversity of entities receiving per year; DOE- and public funds.
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Assist families, businesses, communities, cities, and states in an equitable transition, ensuring that the disadvantaged and at-risk do not suffer disproportionate burdens. Please note that the primary policies targeting fairness, diversity, and inclusion during the transition are establishing the Office of Equitable Energy Transitions and the National Transition Corporation, which are the fourth and fifth policies in this table.
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Transition Corporation. at-risk communities.
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Build critical infrastructure needed for the transition to net zero, including new transmission lines, an EV charging station network, and a CO2 pipeline network. Expand the innovation toolkit.
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(3) Amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to assign to FERC the responsibility to designate any new National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors and to clarify that it is in the national interest for the United States to achieve net-zero climate goals as part of any such designations.
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f Extend 45Q tax credit for carbon capture, use, and sequestration for projects that begin substantial construction prior to 2030 and make tax credit fully refundable for projects that commence construction prior to December 31, 2022. Set the 45Q subsidy rate for use equal to $35/tCO2 less whatever explicit carbon price is established and the subsidy rate for permanent sequestration to be equal to $70/tCO2 less whatever explicit carbon price is established.
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(4) Congress should provide information annually to the White House Office of Equitable Energy Transitions detailing regional progress toward decarbonization goals and benchmarks for equity.
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S . E N E R G Y S Y S T E M Chapter 2 also reports that roughly $2 trillion in incremental capital investments must be mobilized over the next decade for projects that come online in 2030 to put the United States on track to net zero by 2050 (average from studies identified in Figure 2.5)
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