Climate Policy Lab postdoctoral scholar Zdenka Myslikova discusses the conversations at COP26 surrounding funding climate solutions and clean energy technology.
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The website “Restoring American Leadership” which chronicles the transition plans of U.S. President Elect Joe Biden includes a vision specifically on climate change. It calls on the United States to go further than just rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement to build “a more resilient, sustainable economy – one that will put the United States on an irreversible path to achieve net-zero emission, economy-wide, by no later than 2050.” The plan references multiple ways to accomplish net zero goals including promoting climate smart agriculture, building greener and more resilient public transportation infrastructure, and decarbonizing the power sector as well as creating additional union jobs via a major program upgrading existing buildings.
The transition planning, as described, misses the opportunity to put U.S. actions into a global perspective. We offer some suggestions for the new administration, based on the Climate Policy Lab’s research, on how to marry national domestic climate policy with international challenges and opportunities.
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In 2022, the view from the windows of the hourly flights between Washington DC and Boston will change as wind machines appear off the northeast coast. The excitement around offshore wind intensified this week as the oil major, BP purchased a 50% share in two proposed windfarms off New York and Massachusetts from Norway’s Equinor, a giant energy company turned wind developer, in a $1.1 billion deal. This sale demonstrates the significance of the offshore wind sector (OSW) as energy giants like Equinor and BP recognize the future importance of large-scale renewables.
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It’s been over ten years since the 2009 financial crisis economic stimulus packages targeted clean energy companies and today’s headlines highlight the payoff. Clean energy companies outperformed the S&P 500 in 2019 and looks poised to payout even more to investors in 2020. Tesla received a $465 million federal loan during the U.S. 2009 stimulus to design electric vehicles and begin manufacturing and its market capitalization surpassed that of ExxonMobil earlier this year. Tesla is not the exception to the rule. A comprehensive study of the US Department of Energy’s SBIR grant program found that the awards led to positive impacts on patenting and revenue innovative companies.
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