Climate Center

Idea #10 Transition to Net Zero: No Single Silver Bullet by Julie Keenahan A Path to Zero Carbon Carbon-free power is within sight. Significant progress has been made toward lowering the cost of wind and solar generation, and new low and zero-carbon generation solutions are being deployed every day. However,…Read More

Idea #8 Think Globally, Act Locally… Think Globally Again by Anna Mikulska The “think globally, act locally” slogan has been an integral part of  climate action. It embodies the idea that instead of waiting for grand breakthroughs to “fix the world,” we should implement environmentally conscious solutions into everyday decisions…Read More

Idea #9 It’s Time to Rethink Our Roads by Erick Guerra The first Highway Capacity Manuals—the guidebooks for how, where, and what types of roads get built in the United States—are refreshingly upfront about why we built our current road system: “to serve traffic.” In this respect, our national roadbuilding…Read More

Idea #6 Can the Federal Mortgage Finance System Help Manage Climate Risk? by Benjamin J. Keys As climate change has increased both the frequency and severity of storms and hurricanes, and forecasts of sea level rise have become more urgent, property owners and those who provide credit to develop and…Read More

Idea #7 Plant Trees Strategically and Wisely by Frederick Steiner Design is how we articulate and visualize different possibilities for our future. Design can address mitigation, adaption, and transition in response to climate change. All three require that we follow Ian McHarg’s advice and “design with nature.” The Kentucky poet…Read More

Idea #5 Addressing Climate Change in an Era of Denial by Howard Kunreuther and Bob Meyer Sixty-seven percent of people around the world believe global climate change is a major threat to their nation according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted among 27,612 respondents in the summer of 2018. In…Read More

Idea #2 The Very Effective Carbon Tax and its Political Hurdles by Ioana Marinescu Economists conventionally describe carbon taxes as the most efficient policy tool for curbing greenhouse emissions —with the added benefit of raising government revenue. The carbon tax is particularly effective because it raises the cost of carbon…Read More

Idea #4 How Congress Might Address Climate Change:  Two Lessons from Past Practice by Jean Galbraith To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we must harness democracy.  The United States needs more elected officials who are committed to mitigating climate change. But once that happens – then what?  How might Congress legislate…Read More

Idea #3 Recruiting Values for Tough Decisions on Climate Change by Steven O. Kimbrough Despite plummeting costs for–and rapidly growing adoption of—renewable energy in the form of wind and solar and battery storage, world-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to increase (see Figure 1 and “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accelerate Like…Read More

Idea #1 Reducing Emissions is More Important than Reducing Fossil Fuel Combustion by Mark Alan Hughes This post argues that confusion over policy goals presents a significant risk with respect to our chances to mitigate climate change and advocates a clarifying commitment to reducing emissions rather than hydrocarbon combustion as…Read More