US Policy
Getting Climate Policy Right in the Infrastructure Bills
The current infrastructure bills being crafted and debated in Washington, D.C. could not come at a more dramatic time. Across the United States we are seeing heat records shattered, supercharged wildfires, mass die-offs of sea creatures, and flooding in cities. Fittingly, these infrastructure packages would represent the largest US investments…
Strategic Tax Credits to Decarbonize Buildings
There is much talk about the urgency of climate change and how federal policy is currently being crafted to address it. However, there remains a critical need for targeted tax credits for zero-carbon buildings and retrofits. Buildings are the largest single contributor of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, producing approximately 40 percent of global emissions. To meet…
Build Mixed-Income Housing in Wealthy Urban Neighborhoods
The United States is emerging from the acute health and economic crises wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic to a longstanding housing shortage that is only worsening. The compounding harms of this nationwide crisis range from cost burden and inadequate housing to displacement and homelessness. Estimates of the…
Simple Tax Changes Can Unleash Clean Energy Deployment
According to the latest US government inventory, solar will account for 39 percent of the electric generation capacity added in 2021, and wind will constitute a further 31 percent. With current technology costs and policy incentives, renewables are now unquestionably the cheapest generation assets to build and operate.
Bringing Back Clean Air
With the promise of vaccines curtailing the spread of COVID, states and economies are beginning to open up again, and we find ourselves getting back not only the good but also some of the negative aspects of pre-pandemic life. Businesses are powering back up, and cars and trucks are roaring…