With the effects of climate change already upon us, the need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions is nothing less than urgent. It’s a daunting challenge, but the technologies and strategies to meet it exist today. A small set of energy policies, designed and implemented well, can put us on the path to a low carbon future. Energy systems are large and complex, so energy policy must be focused and cost-effective. One-size-fits-all approaches simply won’t get the job done. Policymakers need a clear, comprehensive resource that outlines the energy policies that will have the biggest impact on our climate future, and describes how to design these policies well. Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy is the first such guide, bringing together the latest research and analysis around low carbon energy solutions. Written by Hal Harvey, CEO of the policy firm Energy Innovation, with Robbie Orvis and Jeffrey Rissman of Energy Innovation, Designing Climate Solutions is an accessible resource on lowering carbon emissions for policymakers, activists, philanthropists, and others in the climate and energy community. In Part I, the authors deliver a roadmap for understanding which countries, sectors, and sources produce the greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and give readers the tools to select and design efficient policies for each of these sectors. In Part II, they break down each type of policy, from renewable portfolio standards to carbon pricing, offering key design principles and case studies where each policy has been implemented successfully. We don’t need to wait for new technologies or strategies to create a low carbon future—and we can’t afford to. Designing Climate Solutions gives professionals the tools they need to select, design, and implement the policies that can put us on the path to a livable climate future.

Net-Zero and Low Carbon Solutions for the Energy Sector Guide to choosing and investing in decarbonization technologies for the energy sector Net-Zero and Low Carbon Solutions for the Energy Sector proposes mature (high technology readiness level) net-zero and low carbon pathways and technologies in the energy sector, discussing net-/near-zero solutions for producing and storing power, heat, biofuel, and hydrogen, and highlighting various pathways and processes to achieve net-zero targets and address climate concerns. Each chapter provides a relevant case study to aid in the practical application of concepts, covering decarbonization solutions that have high potential to be used in the near future, such as solar-hybrid systems for net-zero power generation, CCUS-hybrid systems for low carbon power generation, pumped hydropower for power storage, commercial concentrating solar power plants for heat generation, gasification with CCUS for biofuel production, hybrid thermochemical process for hydrogen production, and more. Written from the perspective of firsthand research experience in the field, this book includes information on: Net-zero power generation via solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, hydrogen, and marine processes Near-zero power generation via nuclear, coal, natural gas, biomass, and ammonia processes Mechanical and battery-based power storage and heat storage via physical and thermochemical processes Near-zero heat generation processes and biofuels production, including biogas, biomethane, bioethanol, and biodiesel Hydrogen production via electrolysis and thermochemical processes with CCUS and low-emission technologies for hydrogen storage Net-Zero and Low Carbon Solutions for the Energy Sector is a valuable resource for business professionals, academics, and policy makers who are active in contributing to net-zero emissions targets for keeping the atmospheric CO2 levels in an acceptable range.

The world is transforming its energy system from one dominated by fossil fuel combustion to one with net-zero emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary anthropogenic greenhouse gas. This energy transition is critical to mitigating climate change, protecting human health, and revitalizing the U.S. economy. To help policymakers, businesses, communities, and the public better understand what a net-zero transition would mean for the United States, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine convened a committee of experts to investigate how the U.S. could best decarbonize its transportation, electricity, buildings, and industrial sectors. This report, Accelerating Decarbonization of the United States Energy System, identifies key technological and socio-economic goals that must be achieved to put the United States on the path to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The report presents a policy blueprint outlining critical near-term actions for the first decade (2021-2030) of this 30-year effort, including ways to support communities that will be most impacted by the transition.

Net-Zero and Low Carbon Solutions for the Energy Sector Guide to choosing and investing in decarbonization technologies for the energy sector Net-Zero and Low Carbon Solutions for the Energy Sector proposes mature (high technology readiness level) net-zero and low carbon pathways and technologies in the energy sector, discussing net-/near-zero solutions for producing and storing power, heat, biofuel, and hydrogen, and highlighting various pathways and processes to achieve net-zero targets and address climate concerns. Each chapter provides a relevant case study to aid in the practical application of concepts, covering decarbonization solutions that have high potential to be used in the near future, such as solar-hybrid systems for net-zero power generation, CCUS-hybrid systems for low carbon power generation, pumped hydropower for power storage, commercial concentrating solar power plants for heat generation, gasification with CCUS for biofuel production, hybrid thermochemical process for hydrogen production, and more. Written from the perspective of firsthand research experience in the field, this book includes information on: Net-zero power generation via solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, hydrogen, and marine processes Near-zero power generation via nuclear, coal, natural gas, biomass, and ammonia processes Mechanical and battery-based power storage and heat storage via physical and thermochemical processes Near-zero heat generation processes and biofuels production, including biogas, biomethane, bioethanol, and biodiesel Hydrogen production via electrolysis and thermochemical processes with CCUS and low-emission technologies for hydrogen storage Net-Zero and Low Carbon Solutions for the Energy Sector is a valuable resource for business professionals, academics, and policy makers who are active in contributing to net-zero emissions targets for keeping the atmospheric CO2 levels in an acceptable range.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BESTSELLER In this urgent, singularly authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical--and accessible--plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid an irreversible climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help and guidance of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science and finance, he has focused on exactly what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide toward certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only gathers together all the information we need to fully grasp how important it is that we work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases but also details exactly what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. He describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions; where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively; where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions--suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but by following the guidelines he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.

• New York Times bestseller • The 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming, based on meticulous research by leading scientists and policymakers around the world “At this point in time, the Drawdown book is exactly what is needed; a credible, conservative solution-by-solution narrative that we can do it. Reading it is an effective inoculation against the widespread perception of doom that humanity cannot and will not solve the climate crisis. Reported by-effects include increased determination and a sense of grounded hope.” —Per Espen Stoknes, Author, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming “There’s been no real way for ordinary people to get an understanding of what they can do and what impact it can have. There remains no single, comprehensive, reliable compendium of carbon-reduction solutions across sectors. At least until now. . . . The public is hungry for this kind of practical wisdom.” —David Roberts, Vox “This is the ideal environmental sciences textbook—only it is too interesting and inspiring to be called a textbook.” —Peter Kareiva, Director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change. One hundred techniques and practices are described here—some are well known; some you may have never heard of. They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air. The solutions exist, are economically viable, and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination. If deployed collectively on a global scale over the next thirty years, they represent a credible path forward, not just to slow the earth’s warming but to reach drawdown, that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline. These measures promise cascading benefits to human health, security, prosperity, and well-being—giving us every reason to see this planetary crisis as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.

The science is unequivocal: stabilizing climate change implies bringing net carbon emissions to zero. This must be done by 2100 if we are to keep climate change anywhere near the 2oC warming that world leaders have set as the maximum acceptable limit. Decarbonizing Development: Three Steps to a Zero-Carbon Future looks at what it would take to decarbonize the world economy by 2100 in a way that is compatible with countries' broader development goals. Here is what needs to be done: -Act early with an eye on the end-goal. To best achieve a given reduction in emissions in 2030 depends on whether this is the final target or a step towards zero net emissions. -Go beyond prices with a policy package that triggers changes in investment patterns, technologies and behaviors. Carbon pricing is necessary for an efficient transition toward decarbonization. It is an efficient way to raise revenue, which can be used to support poverty reduction or reduce other taxes. Policymakers need to adopt measures that trigger the required changes in investment patterns, behaviors, and technologies - and if carbon pricing is temporarily impossible, use these measures as a substitute. -Mind the political economy and smooth the transition for those who stand to be most affected. Reforms live or die based on the political economy. A climate policy package must be attractive to a majority of voters and avoid impacts that appear unfair or are concentrated on a region, sector or community. Reforms have to smooth the transition for those who stand to be affected, by protecting vulnerable people but also sometimes compensating powerful lobbies.