Net-Zero America: Potential Pathways, Infrastructure, and Impacts

This Net Zero America study aims to inform and ground political, business, and societal conversations regarding what it would take for the U.S. to achieve an economy-wide target of net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. Achieving this goal, i.e. building an economy that emits no more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than are permanently removed and stored each year, is essential to halt the buildup of climate-warming gases in the atmosphere and avert costly damages from climate change. A growing number of pledges are being made by major corporations, municipalities, states, and national governments to reach net- zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. This study provides granular guidance on what getting to net-zero really requires and on the actions needed to translate these pledges into tangible progress. The work outlines five distinct technological pathways, each of which achieves the 2050 goal and involves spending on energy in line with historical spending as a share of economic activity, or between 4-6% of gross domestic product. The authors are neutral as to which pathway is ���best���, and the final path the nation takes will no doubt differ from all of these. A goal of this study is to provide confidence that the U.S. now has multiple genuine paths to net-zero by 2050 and to provide a blueprint for priority actions for the next decade. These priorities include accelerating deployment at scale of technologies and solutions that are mature and affordable today and will return value regardless of what path the nation takes, as well as a set of actions to build key enabling infrastructure and improve a set of less mature technologies that will help complete the transition to a net-zero America. With multiple plausible and affordable pathways available, the societal conversation can now turn from ���if��� to ���how��� and focus on the choices the nation and its myriad stakeholders wish to make to shape the transition to net-zero. These conversations will need to be sensitive to the different values and priorities of diverse communities. That requires insight on how the nation will be reshaped by different paths to net-zero, and the benefits, costs, and challenges for specific locations, industries, professions, and communities. Supporting these decisions requires analysis at a visceral, human scale. The original and distinguishing feature of this Net Zero America study is thus the comprehensive cataloging across all major sectors at high geospatial and temporal resolution of the energy infrastructure deployments and related capital expenditures required for a net-zero transition. This granularity allows assessing the implications for land use, employment, air pollution, capital mobilization, and incumbent fossil fuel industries at state and local levels. The high resolution analysis is aimed at helping inform federal and state policy choices and private-sector decision making in support of a transition to net-zero by 2050. During the 2+ year research effort, the authors had many informative discussions with individuals in environmental research and advocacy organizations, oil and gas companies, renewable energy companies, national labs, industry trade organizations, universities, and elsewhere. The authors thank those individuals for their time and interest. The authors also thank the hundreds of stakeholders who have attended briefings where preliminary study results were presented. The feedback received as a result of those briefings have helped shape the contents of this report. Of course, any errors or omissions in this study are the responsibility of the authors alone, as are any views or recommendations expressed herein. For funding support, the authors thank the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, BP and the Carbon Mitigation Initiative within Princeton���s High Meadows Environmental Institute, ExxonMobil, and the University of Queensland. The full report, appendices, and detailed data portal are all available at http://netzeroamerica.princeton.edu
Download data and other resources at https://netzeroamerica.princeton.edu