NEW REPORT: Powering Toward 100% Clean Power by 2035

Evergreen Action and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) today released “Powering Toward 100 Percent Clean Power by 2035,” a report with new modeling that details how President Biden can build on the clean energy investments in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and close the remaining pollution gap to get on track to achieve his climate commitments.

New modeling in this report finds that the most effective action the administration can take to tackle power sector carbon pollution is to set ambitious carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants under the Clean Air Act. Specifically, the modeling shows that advancing strong limits on power plant carbon pollution, along with the IRA, could cut power-sector carbon emissions 77 percent below 2005 levels by the end of this decade.

To deliver the climate agenda he promised the American people, the president must make significant progress this year to clean up the power sector, the nation’s largest industrial source of heat-trapping carbon pollution and the linchpin to economy-wide decarbonization. The report provides a roadmap to build on the historic climate progress made by the IRA and get on the path to achieve President Biden’s targets of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 and a 50-52 percent reduction of economy-wide emissions from 2005 levels by 2030.

In addition to strong power sector standards, NRDC’s modeling shows that effective implementation of the IRA, improvements in electricity transmission and stepped-up action by states can put the U.S. on track to a safer, clean energy future.

Read the full policy report here.

“The IRA was a pivotal moment for climate action in the United States, but it is not mission accomplished for the Biden climate agenda,” said Evergreen Action Power Sector Policy Lead Charles Harper. “President Biden committed to the most ambitious set of climate goals in American history—including getting us to 100 percent clean power by 2035 and slashing 2005 climate pollution levels in half by 2030. Important progress has been made, but President Biden must take bold action this year in order to deliver on those commitments. By ramping up its work to transition the U.S. economy toward 100 percent clean energy, the Biden administration and state leaders can reduce toxic pollution, cut energy costs, create good jobs, and advance environmental justice. Let’s get to work.”

“This new report not only shows that President Biden’s climate goals for the power sector are achievable—but it is among the first to lay out how we can actually get there,” said Manish Bapna, President and CEO of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “We don’t need magic bullets or new technologies. We already have the tools—and now we have a roadmap. If the Biden administration, Congress, and state leaders follow it, we will build the better future we all deserve. There is no time for half measures or delay.”

Evergreen and NRDC’s new policy report assesses the steps the Biden administration must take to stay within reach of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 and address harmful pollution from fossil generation. Recommendations include:

• Setting ambitious carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants under the Clean Air Act, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and setting EPA pollution standards that reduce traditional air and water pollutants and improve public health;
• Expanding transmission capacity, speeding up interconnections, and creating market parity for clean energy at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC);
• Implementing the Inflation Reduction Act effectively, with timely federal guidance on the IRA’s tax credits and grant programs and the distribution of funds in a way that maximizes carbon reductions and equitable economic opportunity; and
• Advancing climate action at the state level, including accelerated 100 percent clean electricity and pollution standards that align with 80 percent clean power by 2030 and heightened oversight of polluting utilities.

You can read Evergreen and NRDC’s full roadmap to 100 percent clean power by 2035, here.

You can read a blog by NRDC climate expert Lissa Lynch, “Putting 100% Clean Power Within Reach: A Post-IRA Pathway,”here.