Should U.S. Climate Policy Focus More on Innovation?
Most clean energy advocates believe that the world has all the low-carbon technologies needed to effectively address climate change; suggesting that the world doesn’t need technology breakthroughs, but political breakthroughs to drive widespread deployment of clean energy technologies. ITIF characterizes this thinking as the “Clean Energy Deployment Consensus,” and argues that it translates to a policy environment heavily weighted towards deployment subsidies, mandates, and carbon prices. ITIF’s new report,Challenging the Clean Energy Deployment Consensus, argues that the world needs a more comprehensive Innovation Consensus that focuses on developing and deploying affordable clean energy technologies that are cost- and performance-competitive with fossil fuels. Matthew Stepp moderates a discussion between energy experts on OurEnergyPolicy.org that confronts the question of whether the world actually has all the clean technologies it needs, or if there is room for additional policy support for innovation to improve clean energy technologies.
