The OurEnergyLibrary aggregates and indexes publicly available fact sheets, journal articles, reports, studies, and other publications on U.S. energy topics. It is updated every week to include the most recent energy resources from academia, government, industry, non-profits, think tanks, and trade associations. Suggest a resource by emailing us at info@ourenergypolicy.org.
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Given the scale of the climate crisis, the short timeframe for action, and insufficient progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there is broad scientific agreement that large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies and approaches are needed to counter rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. CDR encompasses a suite of solutions, both engineered and nature-based, that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and durably store it.
This paper focuses on engineered carbon removal technologies. In particular, it focuses on bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air capture (DAC) because these methods have been included in many …
View Full ResourceAir quality associated public health co-benefit may emerge from climate and energy policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the distribution of these co-benefits has not been carefully studied, despite the opportunity to tailor mitigation efforts so they achieve maximum benefits within socially and economically disadvantaged communities (DACs). Here, we quantify such health co-benefits from different long-term, low-carbon scenarios in California and their distribution in the context of social vulnerability. The magnitude and distribution of health benefits, including within impacted communities, is found to varies among scenarios which reduce economy wide GHG emissions by 80% in 2050 depending …
View Full ResourceOn August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) into law. The IRA provides $369 billion in strategic investment to promote clean energy and climate justice. It is the strongest congressional climate action plan yet, one that will reduce energy bills, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, spur clean energy innovation, and strengthen domestic manufacturing.
NRDC analyzed the potential energy, emissions, and economic benefits of the IRA’s extension and enhancement of clean electricity credits. To do so, we evaluated a modeled package very similar to the IRA’s final tax package, including the bulk of the …
View Full ResourceA new analysis commissioned by the BlueGreen Alliance from the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst finds that the more than 100 climate, energy, and environmental investments in the Inflation Reduction Act will create more than 9 million good jobs over the next decade—an average of nearly 1 million jobs each year. That includes more than 6 million jobs created over the next 10 years by grants, loans, and tax credits and nearly 3 million jobs stimulated by new loan guarantee authority for the U.S. Department of Energy. The bill’s broad investments will also help …
View Full ResourceIn this deep-dive paper, we document some of the knock-on effects of what may appear to be “green” strategies within one country. We also examine the provision of fossil fuel subsidies and compare them with the availability of “green” finance. The point is that these negative outcomes are not inevitable; nor are they necessary “collateral damage” in otherwise positive shifts to green energy use. We argue that avoiding these impacts requires changes in strategy not only for lower-income economies, but even more urgently in rich countries and at the global level. Such change will incorporate climate justice in the transition …
View Full ResourcePresident Biden campaigned and won on the most ambitious climate agenda in our nation’s history. But over a year into President Biden’s first term, the U.S. federal fossil fuel program remains inconsistent with his stated national climate pollution target and the goals of the Paris Agreement. If the federal fossil fuel program continues on its current trajectory, it will be impossible for the Biden administration to meet its climate obligations. After all, the science is resoundingly clear: no new fossil fuel infrastructure can be developed anywhere globally, if we hope to stand a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.…
View Full ResourceIntensifying hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. Ambitious clean energy commitments. Building and transportation electrification. Justice 40 and a laser focus on energy affordability.
Leaders must steer their organizations through a minefield of changes and disruptions. How can they prioritize investments and initiatives as they look to deliver clean, just, and predictable energy in the years to come?
Our latest survey answers pressing questions from nearly 200 utility executives—uncovering pain points and opportunities for utilities to get ahead.…
View Full ResourceCurbing emissions from the transportation sector is one of the most important steps the United States can take to cut greenhouse gas pollution by 50-52% by 2030. In fact, transportation emissions account for nearly a third of all such emissions in the U.S., in addition to being a major public health and environmental justice issue. The Biden Administration has the important opportunity to use existing authorities to promote cleaner transportation fuels.
Currently, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is the dominant federal policy that governs transportation fuels. It requires fuel providers (i.e. oil companies) to incorporate bio-based renewable fuels, like ethanol, …
View Full ResourceThe U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is a key federal program shifting the nation’s transportation fuel mix towards lower-carbon alternatives. A 2014 update to the standard included certain types of renewable electricity as qualifying fuels, supporting vehicle electrification within the RFS for the first time. This study investigates the potential under existing regulatory authority to expand deployment of low-carbon waste-to-electricity pathways, yielding revenue that could be used to subsidize electric vehicle (EV) sales or to support other RFS-aligned climate and transport-sector goals. We find that by accounting for drivetrain efficiency in credit allocation and creating a centralized entity to accrue …
View Full ResourceA rapid and low-carbon transformation of the transportation sector in the United States holds the key to delivering on multiple goals: enhancing economic mobility, improving health, expanding environmental justice and equity, reducing global oil dependence in a time of deep concerns about energy security, and delivering on ambitious and necessary climate goals. The United States has committed to an ambitious climate target of slashing emissions in half by 2030—setting the country on a path toward keeping global climate goals within reach.
The transportation sector—now the biggest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.—is one of the key linchpins …
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