I recently unveiled the framework for a “Green Real Deal” on behalf of the Energy Futures Initiative at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Energy Innovates conference in Washington, D.C. Building upon several months of analytical work, the Green Real Deal framework offers broad principles that are based on a commitment to realistic, actionable, and meaningful progress towards a low-carbon economy.
The Green Real Deal must be a very pragmatic program data-driven, science-based, and analytically supported. Principles like innovation are at the core of the solution. A wise and just transition to a low-carbon economy, moving as fast as is technically and socially possible, must minimize stranded physical assets as well as stranded workers and communities. Such a plan is based on practicality, not ideology.
The Green New Deal, a congressional resolution, does not offer detailed energy sector-specific technology or policy solutions for achieving its ambitious agenda. While it has helped shine an important spotlight on the climate crisis, elements of the resolution, such as going to zero carbon in a 10-year time frame, are largely impractical. And if we start putting out impractical targets, we may lose a lot of key constituencies who we need to bring along to have a real low-carbon solution on the most rapid time frame that we can achieve.
Summarized below, the principles of the Green Real Deal are designed to foster a broad coalition and turn climate ambitions into meaningful actions. I encourage you to review the full document, and I welcome your feedback.
Principles of the Green Real Deal
- Technology, Business Model, and Policy Innovations Are Essential. Incremental and breakthrough innovations must be developed to meet the challenges of deep decarbonization, including the rising marginal costs of abating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- Broad and Inclusive Coalitions Must Be Built. Finding common cause among businesses, consumers, governments, and advocacy groups, proactively addressing conflict, and ensuring all members of society benefit from a transformation to a low-carbon economy will put wind in the sails of meaningful action.
- Social Equity Is Essential for Success. The transformation of energy and associated systems must also improve lives, grow public acceptance of the widespread change required to address climate change, and provide meaningful, well-paying jobs.
- All GHG Emitting Sectors Must be Addressed in Climate Solutions. Electricity is only 28 percent of U.S. emissions and is arguably the easiest to decarbonize. Sectoral analyses—electricity, transportation, industry, buildings and agriculture—will be central to identifying solutions and advancing innovation and net zero emissions targets.
- Optionality and Flexibility are Needed for Technologies, Policies, and Investments. Multiple clean energy technology options are needed for each sector of the economy and region of the country—this requires technology and policy options and flexibility.
The GRD is a framework for proposing policies to address the climate crisis. It doesn’t appear to propose specific policies itself. One overarching policy that will meet all the principals… Read more »
Good explanation about how a fee and dividend carbon pricing policy can interface with the five principles in the Green Real Deal framework. Although it is not in the five… Read more »
Normally, Congress would be unwilling to support carbon pricing at levels that induce technology shift because they would fear backlash from the public (as France recently saw). But with Fee… Read more »
It seems I’m starting a lot of my comments lately by saying that I agree with Dan about Fee & Dividend. Nothing wrong with that; I do agree with him,… Read more »
Roger: A few quick points. While you are correct that eventually the dividend will go to zero when fossil fuels are finally phased out, the fact that the fee keeps… Read more »
Professor Moniz, Thank you for giving OurEnergyPolicy participants the opportunity to comment on your proposed “Green Real Deal” initiative. I read the document and agree with the high-level goals of… Read more »
Full disclosure: I worked at DOE during Dr. Moniz’ tenure as Energy Secretary. I especially appreciate the principle of focusing on ‘all GHG emitting sectors’. Something we’ve been increasingly seeing… Read more »
Brent, per your point on social equity – The Green Real Deal’s social equity principle focuses more on reducing the burden of high energy costs for low-income households and considering… Read more »
Reducing the burden of high energy costs for low-income households is certainly among the most obvious aspects of social equity as it relates to energy. But Brent brings up an… Read more »
Dr. Moniz, as always, is right on target with the principles, but misses one important one. And I offer the missing link, in two parts: 1) Do not subsidize old… Read more »
With great respect for Dr. Moniz, there is piece of short-hand contained in his summary — and in the underlying document — that I think is likely to be understood… Read more »
Thank you, Dr. Moniz for all the work you have done for the country and thank you for welcoming our feedback to your Green Real Deal. As someone who has… Read more »
Ms. Twitmyer, you are correct in observing that companies will spend significant sums promoting their interests – it was ever thus. But I believe climate action will be a voting… Read more »
Dr. Moniz, I am old enough to remember the First Earth Day and the enthusiasm it engendered, and it is good to hear that you are pushing for greater political… Read more »
First off, I second everything Dan Miller says about a Fee and Dividend carbon pricing policy. I think it’s the single most benign and effective policy measure we can implement.… Read more »
I want to echo the support for carbon-fee-and-dividend for a reason not mentioned. The proposed rates of carbon taxing come nowhere NEAR covering the true social cost of carbon. As… Read more »
Mike, I couldn’t agree more with your points about nuclear power and about the need to actively remove CO2. Fortunately the latter issue is beginning to see some promising tech… Read more »
I am intrigued with the principles of Dr. Moniz’s GRD and have perspectives on two, in particular. On building broad and inclusive coalitions: We have to truly embrace the idea… Read more »
The Green New Deal proposal as I read it rejects nuclear power. On that basis, I cannot support Green New Deal. Data are unambiguous, showing that of all the major… Read more »
That’s a great point about Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY-14) Green New Deal congressional proposal and good detail about nuclear fuel recycling. The Green Real Deal (http://bit.ly/2JzFio9) proposed by Ernest Moniz… Read more »
Prof. Berry, I must point out that as a nuclear physicist, I do not reject nuclear power – and indeed, the Energy Futures Initiative has issued a report on how… Read more »
I am not at all surprised that you, Ernest, are a supporter of nuclear power. However one of the descriptions of Green New Deal that I read, perhaps a year… Read more »
Excellent plan. I agree that it must be all-sector. The electricity sector does address not only itself, but the transportation sector and the buildings sector. The no-fossil electricity mix I… Read more »
What really is needed is an agency that will interview companies or groups that have a Carbon Capture System with or without Sequestration. These groups, like ourselves have a CC… Read more »
Thank you, Secretary Moniz. Your framework is salutary, because it provides a roadmap for operationalizing some of the broader principles of various incarnations of the GND. I am particularly heartened… Read more »
There is a great deal to like in the Green Real Deal. It emphasizes the need to accelerate innovation (for both near- and long-term needs in the clean energy sector.… Read more »
Congratulations Mr. Secretary on your Green Real Deal strategy. Of your five principles, Innovations (in technology, business, and policy) are by far the most important and Social Equity appears to… Read more »
Great points on innovation. You suggest an expanded super National Science Foundation -type of grant program to help developing great innovations. The Green Real Deal framework document mentions the U.S.… Read more »
DOE is certainly the premier Energy R&D Funding organization and provides excellent oversight services and awards, especially for large companies and big universities, but primarily through formal solicitations. I was… Read more »
Once again, as he did as Secretary of Energy, Ernie Moniz has hit the nail on the head. All five bullets succinctly capture the essential elements for reducing America’s carbon… Read more »
Mike …. While it is important that all countries come together to take strong action against climate change, what will reduce carbon emissions the most effectively is to address the… Read more »
Of the five principles, I would argue that the most important is #2: Broad and Inclusive Coalitions Must be Built. In order to have any chance of passing a meaningful… Read more »
Mr. Dedrick, I agree with your point that we need to embrace the technologies that have already shown to lower carbon dioxide emissions. There isn’t enough time to develop or… Read more »
Dr. Moniz, Thank you for your response, and for starting and continuing this discussion. I’ve found it very valuable, and only wish this were the conversation happening in Congress and… Read more »
The Energy Futures Initiative’s “Green Real Deal”and the Ocasio-Cortez’s “New Green Deal” are essentially the same with the former, calling for consensus and the other simply mandating the same type… Read more »
Dr. Kadak, I concur with your comments about the GRD being very aspirational, and perhaps not too practical as structured, but I do support it. I feel equally about not… Read more »
I’d like to thank OurEnergyPolicy.org for this opportunity to discuss the work of my nonprofit think tank, the Energy Futures Initiative, and discuss our framework for a Green Real Deal.… Read more »
I would just like to reply to this response of Dr. Moniz with whom I have worked on several future of nuclear energy projects while I was at MIT. What… Read more »
Further, to the discussion on social justice/equity, I do agree that we are moving to some form of carbon pricing. In fact, at the Vatican dialogue in Rome that I… Read more »
Dr. Moniz: You are correct that major fossil fuel companies support the Baker-Shultz proposal (known as the Carbon Dividends Plan (CDP) by the Climate Leadership Council). But note that while… Read more »
Dr. Moniz, Sometime back in this discussion I suggested your efforts could be very well spent bringing our fossil fuel companies to the table to develop a de-carbonized future. I… Read more »