At-a-Glance:
Over 75 companies including names like General Motors, Apple, Unilever and eBay are urging lawmakers to require that power companies supply rising amounts of zero-carbon electricity. A new open letter shows an effort to keep a proposed “clean energy standard” (CES) in the mix on Capitol Hill despite huge political hurdles. To learn more, read “Corporate giants back clean energy standard.”
Key Takeaways:
- The effort is organized by the sustainable investment advocacy group Ceres, the Environmental Defense Fund and others.
- “A federal clean electricity standard should achieve 80 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2030 on the pathway to 100% clean power by 2035,” the letter states.
- “Millions of Americans are already feeling the impacts of climate change. From recent extreme weather to deadly wildfires and record-breaking hurricanes, the human and economic losses are profound,” the letter continues.
Path to 100% Perspective:
The eyes of the world are now on the energy sector. Global leaders now expect power producers to deliver the lion’s share of emissions cuts that are so vital for meeting national decarbonisation goals. Investment remains a key hurdle, especially in the post-COVID world. The International Energy Agency (IEA) calculates that investment in clean electricity must leap from $380 billion to $1.6 trillion by 2030 to put us on a path to net zero by 2050. As a result, oncoming incentives and regulation are set to ensure clean power is always the most attractive option.
Photo by Laurenz Heymann on Unsplash