It is hard to find words to capture 2020 and yet the year’s tragic features are now seared into our national psyche: images of the US Capitol under siege, the pandemic‘s staggering human and economic toll, long-standing racial disparities and injustices that can no longer be ignored, and a fractured political system and populace, all stressing the foundations of our democratic system of government.
This, and more, has left us with the sense that we have lost our ability to work through our differences together—an ability we most need to solve the pressing challenges that confront us, including climate change.
And yet, from another point of view, without papering over the very real tensions and inequities in our country, it is also true that our democratic system worked in the end—not beautifully, or fully, nor without tragic loss of life—but it did work, suggesting that we do still have the capacity to cooperate.
Reasons for hope
Indeed, with respect to the Great Plains Institute’s core mission of transforming our energy system for both economic and environmental benefit, it was, paradoxically, a year filled with signs of hope and momentum:
- The European Union, China, Japan, and others committed to achieving a carbon-neutral economy by midcentury (China pushing their commitment to 2060).
- The world’s largest asset manager, Blackrock, made climate central to its investment strategy and warned companies to tend to their “carbon risk.”
- More US electric utilities announced commitments to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
- Even the Federal Reserve called out climate change as a risk to markets and asset values.
Perhaps more noteworthy is that, as part of the year-end omnibus spending bill, Congress quietly passed the bipartisan Energy Act of 2020, which was years in the making and included bipartisan provisions developed from previously introduced Senate and House bills. For example, on the Senate side, the package featured sponsored or cosponsored provisions from nearly 70 senators and 37 different bills, 29 of which were bipartisan.
The Energy Act is the most sweeping energy legislation to pass in a decade and will provide critical support for developing and deploying technologies essential to meeting midcentury climate goals. Its passage tells us some important things about what a successful climate strategy must look like.
Relationships, trust, and knowledge still matter
I realize that almost sounds quaint. Yet we know this not just because the Energy Act of 2020 passed even in today’s polarized political climate, but also from GPI’s years of experience bringing people together to find agreement on politically durable solutions that bring about real economic and environmental benefits.
Passage of the Energy Act showed the importance of collaboration not just among policy makers, but among the many organizations, companies, and coalitions that helped build support for the act’s provisions—including coalitions convened or facilitated by GPI that alone represent over one hundred companies, utilities, unions, and NGOs.
While the Energy Act is not enough, it is proof that clean energy can provide a foundation for the nation to collaborate on other big national priorities like infrastructure and rapid clean energy deployment, which is essential if we are to meet our midcentury climate goals. Massive scale-up of clean energy is our chance to create much needed jobs, lead the world in this century’s clean technologies, all while bringing about a more equitable society that makes good on America’s promise of opportunity for all.
The primary barriers to transforming the energy system are social, political, and institutional rather than technological
Decarbonizing and restoring the economy as fast as we must, including increasing opportunity for all, is a big enough transformation that it will require a wide diversity of interests to come to view a net-zero carbon future as attractive and even essential, including frontline communities and others often marginalized in such discussions.
We can deeply decarbonize our energy system and economy by dramatically accelerating the adoption of technologies that already exist, even though there will be some technological advancements required to achieve a net-zero carbon economy, particularly that last 20 percent. The point is that we must not wait, we need massive deployment and infrastructure now.
Meeting people where they are on the climate issue will be key to success
The Energy Act of 2020 passed with remarkable bipartisan support because there was no insistence that legislators (and their constituents) like its provisions for the same reasons. GPI has had the very same experience in our nearly 25 years of helping diverse interests co-create policy change.
Working in a bipartisan way has undeniably become harder. But succeeding at truly solving the climate challenge requires that we implement policies that can endure not just over one or two election cycles, but rather over the next several decades and beyond. We don’t have time for backsliding, so we need more than ever to discern where our interests align—which is perhaps GPI’s greatest strength.
It is easy to view this country as irretrievably divided. What is harder, but existentially important, is that we persist in the search for common ground.
On a personal note, this extraordinary year has left me feeling more philosophical than usual, trying to put our current state in some larger perspective. We all know that the arc of human evolution and progress has always been messy, contentious, and full of contradictions, often with a cadence of two steps forward and one step back; beauty and kindness, punctuated by ugliness and meanness.
What I know in my heart, though, is that we each have the power to choose.
My thanks to those of you who have already chosen to be partners with us. Our success is yours. My fervent hope is that everyone who reads this will join you. We need everyone!
What ails us, we have the power to fix.
Invest in our work with a gift today. Your support will scale durable solutions to the climate challenge and allow us to become a more diverse, inclusive, and higher-performing organization, with greater visibility and impact across the United States’ energy landscape.
