The benefits we analyze on this site—more jobs, better health, lower bills, shorter commutes—all come from investing ambitiously in our energy systems, so we we get power from clean sources that don't put pollution into our air and destabilize our climate.
America is on the cusp of an energy revolution. Technology has brought the cost of renewable electricity from sources like solar and wind so far down that in many cases they are now cheaper than fossil fuels. New, more efficient ways to power our cities, run our cars, and heat our homes mean that we can improve health and prosperity across the country without sacrificing our way of life.
To make the most of this technological revolution, we need to invest in renewable power, in electricity distribution, in new vehicles, and in more efficient homes and appliances across the country. This is going to take a big commitment from both government and the private sector. But as the data on this site helps show, the payoffs are going to be even bigger.
Because of these technological advances, fully "decarbonizing" the economy (by replacing fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas-emitting activities with clean alternatives) is relatively cheap in the short term, and actively profitable in the long term. Projections from the World Resources Institute (WRI) show that the annual cost of decarbonization will be less than 0.2% of U.S. GDP by 2030, and will actively save the US 0.3% of GDP by 2050.
But the full benefits only arrive if we move quickly, to head off the worst effects of climate change. That means getting to "net zero"—the point where the economy doesn't put any more greenhouse gas emissions into the air than it takes out—by 2050. The "Build Back Better" bill currently under consideration in Congress is the biggest legislative effort America has ever seen to make this future a reality. The version passed by the House in 2021 includes tax credits for clean energy, electrifying transportation, upgrading buildings, and capturing carbon dioxide emissions. Further analysis by the World Resources Institute shows that the bill "is essential for Congress to put the country’s climate goals within reach".
The adjacent graph shows how different policies lead to different changes in America's greenhouse gas emissions over time, based on WRI projections. One of their scenarios, marked in blue, is designed to be close to Build Back Better (since the bill hasn't passed Congress, we don't know exactly what it will look like if finished). As the graph shows, even BBB isn't enough to get us to "net zero" (marked in green) on its own. But it represents a crucial improvement over our current path, and paves the way for future investment by government and private companies to get us on a true net zero path.
