Yesterday leaders from the House Energy and Commerce Committee previewed a legislative framework designed to ensure a 100 percent clean energy economy by 2050. The framework calls for the creation of a National Climate Bank to invest in a rapid, affordable, and equitable clean energy transition. E&C has released an overview memo, and more complete…
NYT: Apocalypse Becomes the New Normal
Paul Krugman’s latest New York Times column spotlights the impacts of the climate crisis: “Australia’s summer of fire is only the latest in a string of catastrophic weather events over the past year: unprecedented flooding in the Midwest, a heat wave in India that sent temperatures to 123 degrees, another heat wave that brought unheard-of…
Buy EV Miles, Not Cars
By Reed Hundt. Now that electric vehicles are clearly well-established in the market, as shown by the chart below, the right program for government is not to subsidize the cars anymore. Instead, public money should subsidize the miles. Use public money to pay rewards for driving electric miles. Don’t subsidize EV purchases. The goal is…
Clean Energy Uniquely Suited for Blending Public and Private Investment
The term “public-private partnership” or P3 can often elicit negative reactions. For many, a P3 refers to the kinds of projects described in this WSJ article about a new controversial toll road in North Carolina. Americans are not used to paying for what is traditionally free access to public infrastructure, like roads. So when a…
Warren climate plan to create green jobs includes green bank
Today Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a Plan to Create 10.6 Million Green Jobs, which includes a green bank modeled on the National Climate Bank Act. The plan sets describes how a green bank on this scale could benefit workers and communities: “A Green Bank is among the best ways to ensure a dedicated funding stream…
Columbia Survey Forecasts Electric Vehicle Trends
Electric vehicles are an important technology that will be necessary for economy-wide decarbonization. Currently, passenger vehicles alone represent the greatest single share of global oil demand, at 23%. Trucks make up another 17% of global oil demand. To study potential trends in store for passenger electric vehicles, Columbia researchers collected data from 17 forecasts produced…