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How can the world’s largest economy “decarbonize” in just three decades? Can it be done? What will it take?  And how can we go about it in a way that protects American workers, keeps our economy strong, and preserves our nation’s global leadership in technology and innovation?

These are the questions Decarb America aims to help answer. A new, joint research initiative of the Bipartisan Policy Center, Clean Air Task Force, and Third Way, Decarb America will use a cutting-edge modeling platform to explore different policy and technology pathways for achieving net-zero U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Results from our in-depth analyses will advance understanding of the impacts, tradeoffs, investment needs, and opportunities that lie ahead as our nation and the world enter a critical period to address climate change and transition to clean energy systems. The challenge is enormous. Empowering policymakers with the information and tools they’ll need to make smart decisions is essential for success.

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Energy Infrastructure Needs for a Net-Zero Economy

Interactive Maps

This map series shows the energy infrastructure needed for a net-zero economy and highlights opportunities for each state to develop clean energy industries. We broke down the infrastructure needed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 into twelve categories.

  • Onshore Wind
  • Offshore Wind
  • Solar
  • Nuclear
  • Energy Storage
  • Hydrogen Production
  • Hydrogen End-Use
  • Biomass
  • Zero-Carbon Fuels
  • CO2 Pipelines
  • Carbon Capture
  • Electric Vehicles

Key Takeaways

Read The Latest Reports

Employment Impacts in a Decarbonized Economy

Key takeaways from analysis on how reaching net-zero emissions impacts US employment.

Pathways to Net-Zero Emissions

Key takeaways from analysis of different pathways to net-zero emissions.

Clean Energy Innovation Breakthroughs

Key takeaways from our analysis of key design choices for a national clean energy standard.

Acknowledgments

We thank Rachel Smith and Andrés Prieto for their technical and policy support. We thank Ryan Fitzpatrick, Eric Ingersoll, Jackie Kempfer, Matt Bright, John Thompson, Mike Fowler, and Jonathan Lewis for providing input on technology assumptions and modeling inputs. We thank Armond Cohen, Josh Freed, and Sasha Mackler for supporting this initiative. We thank Maggie Sepulveda for the graphic design, Billie Mead for website design, and Kate deGruyter and Jackie Toth for communications guidance. This work was funded by the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Decarb America Research Initiative Partners

Bipartisan Policy Center

Third Way

Clean Air Task Force