News & Reports
Delayed action on climate to result in irreversible change and high costs
The physics of Earth’s natural systems show that a delay—of even a decade—in reducing CO2 emissions will lock in large-scale, irreversible changes. If carbon dioxide emissions do not begin to trend down this decade, it will be nearly impossible to stabilize the climate at any acceptable level.
“The Costs of Delay,” co-authored by Hal Harvey and Sonia Aggarwal, demonstrates that delaying action will escalate the risks and multiply the costs of dealing with climate change. Harvey and Aggarwal argue that the world has a window of about 10 years to bend carbon emissions curves downward and avert a climate catastrophe.
Practical Energy Plan Act of 2011 could result in 12 percent reduction in U.S. GHG emissions in 2030
This preliminary analysis illustrates national impacts of the Practical Energy Plan Act of 2011 as introduced by Senator Lugar on June 30, 2011. The aim of this analysis is to provide a detailed, consistent fact base by quantifying the economic impact of policy options and providing a common analytic approach for assessing those options. ClimateWorks takes no position on legislation.
U.S. Energy and Climate Policy: A Comparative Analysis
The analysis indicates that U.S. energy and climate policy can shift energy use away from oil and other fossil fuels and toward cleaner, more efficient technologies while maintaining economic growth and boosting employment. A combination of standards, incentives, and caps accelerate this transition, resulting in public and private investments and structural shifts that stimulate the economy.