David M. Hart

To meet growing global demand for energy services while averting the worst consequences of climate change, the world must accelerate clean energy innovation. Western Europe contributes most to this global process. The United States has faltered. And China has a long way to go.

The bipartisan infrastructure package is consistent with recommendations that ITIF and Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy co-published a year ago—providing a significant boost for critical technology areas such as carbon capture, carbon removal, and industrial decarbonization.

Levying carbon tariffs is a difficult and counterproductive way for nations with ambitious climate policies to create a level playing field for their higher-cost industrial sectors. A more workable solution would be to design a flexible open-trade club for climate innovators.

An integrated clean manufacturing strategy will pay dividends for both the economy and the global environment.

The United States needs an integrated national strategy to address the twin challenges of bolstering its manufacturing sector and averting climate change. Timely federal RD&D and deployment policies targeted to specific manufacturing industries could create comparative advantage, expanding domestic investment and employment.

How Congress responds to the details of President Biden’s budget, particularly the proposed investments in climate research and development, will be crucial to the nation’s and the world’s ability to lower emissions.

Congress and the administration should seize on the momentum created by the passage of the Energy Act of 2020 and provide a multi-billion-dollar increase to raise the ambition for energy innovation programs at DOE in the FY 2022 budget.

Numerous federal agencies have non-profit, non-governmental foundations that work with them to advance their missions.

Dozens of heads of state will celebrate Earth Day by joining President Biden for a climate summit. As the assembled leaders contemplate more ambitious national commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they must treat innovation with equal seriousness. Without accelerating climate innovation, promises to cut emissions will be hollow.

The Biden administration’s infrastructure package should include $5 billion over five years in cost-shared demonstration projects that seek to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy industries such as steel, cement, and chemicals.

The starting gun for the race to be a part of the auto industry’s future has sounded. The United States is already lagging behind. Unless the federal government gets serious, the nation may be stuck there for good.

The president-elect’s overall approach to technology and innovation policy appears to be formulated to engage the government as an active partner alongside industry in spurring innovation—but also as a tougher regulator of many tech industries and technologies.