The Road to Net Zero

Deck: 

Decarbonizing Household Consumption

Fortnightly Magazine - December 2020
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The production of electricity from carbon-based fossil fuels releases greenhouse gas emissions. The consumption of energy from fossil fuels also releases greenhouse gas emissions. The Trump administration took no actions to promote decarbonization of either production or consumption.

Several states pushed hard to decarbonize production by shifting toward wind and solar. A few also pushed hard to decarbonize consumption via energy efficiency, rooftop photovoltaics (PVs), electric vehicles, and heat pumps. We expect states will continue with these efforts and the Biden-Harris administration will take several steps to support them, regardless of what happens with Congress.

This article identifies several policies that federal and state governments can take to promote decarbonization
of consumption.

Energy Efficiency

Inefficient electric appliances should be removed from the market and natural gas equipment should be replaced with electric equipment. Consumers shy away from buying efficient equipment because it is more expensive, not readily available, and they often don't know it exists.

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