Meeting Trade-Offs for a Net-Zero America
The United States’ delegation is attending the United Nations climate summit COP27 in Egypt with something it has often been missing: a credible foundation for decarbonizing its economy by the middle of this century. Meeting this goal requires clear-eyed responses to unavoidable trade-offs.
The challenge is steep. The U.S. and other countries must scale clean electricity production and transmission, electrify large swaths of the economy that currently run on fossil fuels, and deploy new, lower-emission technologies for sectors that are difficult to electrify. Climate, economic and energy security imperatives require rapid technology development and deployment supported and spurred by ambitious and enduring public policies, along with changes to operational norms and behaviors across society.