Some key points of our initiative include:
– In the past five years, economic events and sectoral policies have dramatically changed the trajectory of future U.S. GHG emissions. Economic factors and sectoral policies have reduced projected GHG emissions in 2020 by nearly 1.7 gigatons.
– Five existing sectoral policy pathways – fuel economy standards, renewable fuels, renewable power, nuclear power, and building efficiency – are responsible for over 600 MMT of projected emissions reductions in 2020.
– To put this achievement in perspective, in December 2009 President Obama announced a commitment to reduce U.S. GHG emissions to 17% below 2005 levels, or nearly 2.6 gigatons below the level projected for 2020 in the AEO 2005.
– Additional policies and technology pathways not included in the current analysis, such as industrial combined heat & power (CHP) and recycled energy, also have the potential to bring about large-scale reductions in GHG emissions by 2020 with the assistance of targeted policy measures.