The goal of our 'Powering the Blue Economy' project is to assess the optimal grid integration of offshore renewable energy technologies (wave, tidal, wind) and their potential for advancing the blue economy. Through this project, our team is holistically evaluating wave energy and wind-wave co-located energy in terms of the near-term and long-term market potential and value to the electrical grid and blue economy, as defined by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office report: Powering the Blue Economy (PBE), and disseminating this information widely to streamline device design and deployment strategies.
Katy Zhen, 2025 American Fisheries Society Hutton Scholar and RAEL Visiting Student, wrote a blog series documenting her summer working on this project. You can read her work here.
AFS Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Scholar, Katy Zhen, shares insights from her summer in RAEL and conducting field work at the water, fisheries, and energy nexus
Starting the Summer
I am Katy, a 2025 Hutton Scholar of the American Fisheries Society. This summer I am working with Alexandra Grayson and Dr. Daniel Kammen at the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, who, with Tufts University and the University of California San Diego, have been answering questions at the nexus of wave energy and the blue economy. The main task that I will be assisting with is “generating energy demand profiles for blue economy industries”. I will visit aquaculture farms on the west coast with my mentor Alexandra to validate some of the energy demand datasets we've developed and learn about the energy efficient strategies these farms are implementing. I will also be helping develop load profiles, models of energy demand and where the demand is coming from, which differ depending on season, time of day, and day of the week.
I am participating in the Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program because of my interest in the environmental sciences which was inspired by my childhood growing up in the height of the pollution crisis in China. I felt called to fisheries science specifically because of my isolation from bodies of water as a child and my sudden introduction to aquatic habitats when I immigrated to San Francisco. Living next to the Bay and the pacific ocean, I was introduced to the importance of these habitats and inspired to protect the health of the oceans.
Farmed fish and its growing demand
The global population has grown dramatically over the past decade, and the demand for food has risen accordingly. The lack of space and resources on land for animal farming has pushed many toward aquacultures as the response against food insecurity. This sector has extreme potential considering the fact that 70% of the planet is ocean but only 2% of human food production comes from it. In fact, according tothe 2024 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA), the global aquaculture production has already increased by 4.4% since 2020 and will only continue growing in the next decades. However, as the demand for aquaculture grown foods increases, so does the demand for energy to power these farms. In order to ensure that the industry grows sustainably, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has proposed the Blue Transformation, a vision to “expand aquatic food systems and increase their contribution to better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life”.
In addition to farming fish for food, fish are often spawned and harvested at hatchery facilities for conservation. Recently my mentor Alexandra and I visited Nimbus Hatchery in Gold River, CA to validate our finfish hatchery load profile data. There, we were introduced to their process of spawning and raising both salmon and steelheads to be released back into the American River. The hatchery was originally built in compliance with a California law which states that each company that builds a dam must be responsible for funding a nearby hatchery to mitigate for the loss of fish habitat. While visiting Nimbus, I learned that an energy intensive process at the hatchery was lowering the water temperature through a cooling system. Female salmon are extremely sensitive to changes in water temperature and will only spawn eggs when the temperature is below a certain threshold.
Us with Gary Novak and Emily Fisher from Nimbus Hatchery.
There are multiple types of aquacultures that are currently being utilized to farm seafood, with the main three being recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) inland aquaculture system, non-RAS inland aquaculture, and offshore marine aquaculture. Nimbus hatchery acclimate juvenile fish they spawn using raceways, which is a non-RAS aquaculture. Certain types of non-RAS aquaculture, by many metrics, are considered the least sustainable option due to their polluting of freshwater drinking sources and alteration of natural landscapes due to the large amount of land necessary. The hatchery manager mentioned to us that he has been pushing for the change to RAS aquacultures but limits in funding have prevented the switch. RAS aquacultures are a better alternative but they are extremely energy intensive. However, with innovations in renewable energy, it has the potential to be sustainable and play a key role in growing aquaculture production and conservation needs in the future. The main issue with both of these options is that they are inland and therefore compete for space with human and animal populations. Marine aquacultures are a loophole through this problem due to the ocean’s expansive size, making it the choice with the most potential for expanding production. However, offshore aquaculture is not without its drawbacks, posing harm to the marine ecosystem and the sovereignty of tribal nations by confining non-native fish species in open-water cages and raising the risk of disease and pollution. In 2017, the failure of a Puget Sound net pen facility released non-native salmon which competed with native species for food and habitat.
While marine aquacultures bypass the competition for land space, they also require large amounts of energy. This is especially the case for offshore aquacultures which are growing in popularity around the world. Energy requirements for these farms vary depending on the species farmed but can include desalination, cleaning, refrigeration, monitoring, and lighting. Feeding is often the most energy intensive process, at times accounting for 90% of energy use, in finfish and crustacean farming. Mollusks and other low trophic marine (LTM) species often require less energy because feeding is not necessary as they can directly extract dissolved nutrients from the marine environment. These species are commonly farmed on the west coast especially in Washington which is the number one producer of mollusks in the country. In order to ensure that marine aquaculture can remain a sustainable farming option even as the market expands, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been looking into how aquacultures can turn to renewable energy sources to fulfill many of its energy requirements.
The offshore renewable energy source with the most potential for implementation into aquaculture systems is marine hydro-kinetic (MHK) energy which derives energy from the mechanical motion of ocean water, including waves, tides, and currents. The PNNL suggests a method called co-location which would pair MHK energy devices with aquaculture developments. This arrangement can be mutually beneficial for the two sectors. MHK energy would power aquaculture operations, while aquaculture farms would provide the marine energy industry with an application space and promote further development in the field. As the co-location method is deployed across different case studies around the world, it is obvious that the method has clear benefits including cost savings on energy use, ability to minimize environmental effects by lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and the ability for excess power from MHK devices to provide power to onshore facilities like hatcheries and processing facilities. The main barriers to implementing co-location in aquaculture operations are the high costs associated with device installations and the uncertainty regarding licensing and consenting procedures since there is currently a lack of clear regulatory frameworks due to the nascentness of MHK, especially in the US.
Other than implementing renewable energy into aquaculture developments, there have also been other strategies developed to improve energy efficiency with four notable ones being: underwater and autonomous feeding, LED lights, heat pumps, and battery storage. In most current finfish aquaculture farms, salmon and other finfish are fed through pneumatically driven, mechanical feeding systems where feed is blown through tubes into individual pens. The fairly recent development of underwater feeding reduces the amount of energy needed by 50-60% by transporting feed through the feeding hoses using water pressure. Similarly, LED lights have 60% less energy demand and double the life span compared to the halogen lights commonly used in the industry today. Currently, aquaculture farms that require heating use electrical heating panels during the winter to maintain a stable temperature. However, a more energy efficient option is utilizing water to water heat pumps which can pull heat from the environment and deliver between 1.5-4.5 times the energy they receive from the grid. Lastly, energy demand can be reduced through peak shaving by charging battery packs at hours with low demand to be used during peak hours.
The water aeration tank at Feather River Fish Hatchery.
As the demand for aquaculture foods continues to grow, it is vital that we are meeting the demand with sustainability in mind. Research has demonstrated the benefits of expanding the offshore aquaculture industry and it is crucial that we adapt accordingly in order to guarantee food security for the future. This is especially important in the United States where we import 90% of our seafood and are falling behind other countries like China and Norway in terms of aquaculture farming capabilities.
Sources:
Montgomery, Kat. "Opportunities and barriers facing offshore finfish farming in the US." (2019).
FAO. “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022: Towards Blue Transformation.” (2022)
Freeman, M., et al. "Offshore aquaculture: a market for ocean renewable energy." Report for Ocean Energy Systems (OES) (2022).
Krause, Gesche, et al. "Prospects of low trophic marine aquaculture contributing to food security in a net zero-carbon world." Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 6 (2022): 875509.
Møller, Sofie. “Reduction of CO2 Emissions in the Salmon Farming Industry: The Potential for Energy Efficiency Measures and Electrification.” MS thesis. NTNU, 2019.
Henriksson, Patrik. "Energy efficiency of aquaculture." Global Seafood Alliance, 1 Sept. 2010, www.globalseafood.org/advocate/energy-efficiency-aquaculture/.
Hardy, Ronald W. "Best management practices for salmon feeds." Global Seafood Initiative, 1 Apr. 2004, www.globalseafood.org/advocate/best-management-practices-for-salmon-feeds/#:~:text=Feeding%20frequency%20and%20delivery,of%20feed%20that%20is%20lost.
Meeting Critical Minerals Demand using the Ocean
With the rise in popularity of electric vehicles, companies like Tesla have been increasing their production rates. In fact, in 2024 alone, Tesla produced almost 2 million vehicles that each require batteries made from critical minerals like lithium and cobalt. The Energy Act of 2020 defines a critical material as any non-fuel mineral, element, substance, or material that has a high risk of supply chain disruption and serves an essential function in one or more energy technologies. This increase in demand for critical materials raises concerns that supplies might be insufficient to meet these demands. Researchers have been working on modeling future demand for these materials. However, detailed scenarios of metals based on both supply and demand have not emerged because there are more than 60 commonly used metals in modern technology and it is difficult for these metals to substitute each other, not to mention global resources of metal are not well quantified.
One such study that quantifies future critical minerals demand was developed by the Center of Industrial Ecology at Yale University and its four scenarios were inspired by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Its results show that the “Security Foremost” scenario will have the least substantial cumulative energy demand. In this scenario, security overshadows other values and environmental governance is considered low priority. Technological innovation and infrastructure development and maintenance take a back seat, thus lowering energy use in many areas. In contrast, the scenario that will cause the most cumulative energy demand is the “Equitability World” scenario where all sectors work collectively to support the Sustainable Development Goals. Environmental issues are heavily focused on and housing and energy become generally available to all. The development in terms of infrastructure raises the demand for critical materials. The results from this study show that the more investment there is in renewable energy and economic growth, the greater the demand for critical materials will be. However, this is not to discourage growing the renewable energy market as the results also demonstrate that even with a lack of investment in renewable energy, the supply of these materials would still fail to meet future demand. The future we want will hinge upon our ability to appropriately meet demand as we continue to innovate sustainably.
Researchers at the Colorado School of Mines did a comparative review of 150 resource demand models to determine the projected scale of growth of renewable energy sources and how critical material shortages will impact clean energy. A wide variety of mineral demand models have been created based on the ability to predict the deployment of clean energy technologies and then calculating the materials needed to build those technologies. However, these models all produce vastly different results depending on what sources are used and what the modelers prioritize. In fact, the review found that even among models that used the same scenarios, results varied drastically and led to different conclusions. Although it is difficult to speculate if mineral markets are advancing fast enough to meet demand, this review states that the most plausible way to meet demand estimates is by mining remaining reserves. Another popular supply-side strategy is metal recycling. While metal recycling is important for the sustainability of critical minerals, total demand cannot be met through this process alone due to high dissipation rates and long product life times.
Sea to land ratio of Rare Earth Element Concentrations [Adapted from: Haji and Slocum, 2018]
However, for many critical minerals, mining reserves would only meet supply demands for a few more decades. For example, extracting all 25 million tonnes of terrestrial reserves of cobalt would result in only another 30 years of supply. This is the reason why many are now looking toward seawater mineral harvesting as the solution for critical mineral demand. Many rare earth elements (REE) like lithium, uranium, and cobalt are more abundant in seawater than on land.
Seawater contains abundant amounts of minerals and gases that are evenly distributed unlike land-based minerals which are concentrated in certain geologic structures and geographic locations. In addition, extracting minerals from seawater is more environmentally friendly and possibly more economical depending on the method utilized. The most economical method is passive adsorption where the ocean currents deliver seawater to the adsorbent for extraction. To increase adsorption, an electrical field can be applied to the adsorbent material which will also prevent adsorption of non-target minerals through an electrochemical process. Another method being utilized is a mechanically driven extraction system where the adsorbent material is exposed to seawater and then driven to the surface platform where minerals are extracted in a solvent bath. If the energy used by the system is generated from a marine energy device, there is a significant cost reduction because there would be no more need for transport vessels to deploy and retrieve adsorbents. Marine energy harvested at sea has the potential to power an electrolyzer, perform electrochemical extraction, mechanically drive an active adsorbent system, and power on-site technical needs. An example of a mechanically driven system is the Symbiotic Machine for Ocean uRanium Extraction (SMORE) which uses absorbent shells that are incrementally spaced along a chain. Recent research also shows that elements with multiple reduction-oxidation states can potentially be directly extracted from seawater using more traditional electrochemical processes but this option is still unproven and nascent.
SMORE System [Source: MIT]
Overall, as demand for critical minerals increases with the rise in renewable energy,electrical vehicles, and global economic growth, seawater mineral harvesting is emerging as an incredibly viable solution. More environmentally and socially friendly than terrestrial and deep-sea mining, seawater mineral harvesting is also more economical especially when paired with marine hydro-kinetic energy.
Sources:
Elshkaki, A., Graedel, T. E., Ciacci, L., & Reck, B. K. (2018). Resource demand scenarios for the major metals. Environmental science & technology, 52(5), 2491-2497.
Calderon, J. L., Smith, N. M., Bazilian, M. D., & Holley, E. (2024). Critical mineral demand estimates for low-carbon technologies: What do they tell us and how can they evolve?. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 189, 113938.
Haji, M. N., & Slocum, A. H. (2019). An offshore solution to cobalt shortages via adsorption-based harvesting from seawater. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 105, 301-309.
If you agree with us, please click here to sign onto our letter.
As a nation we face three converging crises: the COVID19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession; the climate emergency; and extreme inequality.
Unemployment is rising at the fastest rate since the 2008 crash, and could eventually reach 20% — twice as high as the Great Recession. We needimmediate and sustained intervention to protect people’s health and economic well-being, with a special focus on the most vulnerable. We must also begin planning our economic recovery in a way that protects us from the impact of climate change and lifts up workers and frontline communities.
Many other groups are focused on the emergency stimulus package to stabilize our economy, on preventing harm in an equitable way — which we fully support — so this letter focuses on the longer-term challenge of jumpstarting economic recovery and transitioning to a more sustainable economy. The question isn’t whether we will next need a major economic recovery stimulus, but what kind of stimulus should we pursue? In response we, climate and social policy experts in academia and civil society, have developed a menu of solutions that would collectively comprise a Green Stimulus.
The United States confronts the danger of an economic stimulus that restores — or even deepens — our reliance on fossil fuels. This danger comes from explicit proposals to bail out the fossil fuel sector and roll back workers’ rights, and also from generic general stimulus policies that do not take climate into account. Indeed, infrastructure spending as usual — e.g. highway expansion — will lock in more carbon pollution for decades. We can avoid these problems by crafting a recovery that accelerates the creation of a 21st century green economy.
Thus, we propose an ambitious Green Stimulus of at least $2 trillion that creates millions of family-sustaining green jobs, lifts standards of living, accelerates a just transition off fossil fuels, ensures a controlling stake for the public in all private sector bailout plans, and helps make our society and economy stronger and more resilient in the face of pandemic, recession, and climate emergency in the years ahead. This stimulus should be automatically renewed annually at 4% of GDP per year (roughly $850 billion) until the economy is fully decarbonized and the unemployment rate is below 3.5%. A Green Stimulus would make short-term interventions, restructure political and economic power towards workers and communities, and build toward deep long-term change.
Most of the physical work proposed here cannot begin immediately. We must focus on halting the spread of deadly illness. However, we can do all the preparatory work now to make green projects “shovel ready.” Right now, legislative action as well as planning work, done safely through online channels, including public debate and consultation, can ensure that physical projects can commence as soon as it is feasible to restart major in-person work across the economy.
This preparatory phase must include building up capacity within existing federal, state, and local government agencies (and chartering new ones as necessary) to help manage the implementation phase of this stimulus. In the weeks ahead, the government will undoubtedly pass further stimulus measures. At each step, we must push for that stimulus to be green.
Our proposal for a Green Stimulus is aligned with the “5 Principles for Just COVID-19 Relief and Stimulus,” as put forward by over 300 environmental, justice, labor, and movement organizations: (1) Health is the top priority, for all people, with no exceptions; (2) Provide economic relief directly to the people; (3) Rescue workers and communities, not corporate executives; (4) Make a down payment on a regenerative economy, while preventing future crises; and, (5) Protect our democratic process while protecting each other.
Additionally, our proposal is grounded four key strategies, cutting across industrial sectors and bureaucratic domains:
Create millions of new family-sustaining, career-track green jobs in clean energy expansion, building retrofits and sustainable homebuilding, local food economies, public transit maintenance and operations, electric appliance and vehicle manufacturing, green infrastructure construction and management, local and sustainable textiles and apparel, and partnering with existing pre-approved apprenticeship programs to bring more low-income and workers of color into good union jobs;
Deliver strategic investments — like green housing retrofits, rooftop solar installation, electric bus deployment, rural broadband development, and other forms of economic diversification — to lift up and collaborate with frontline communities, including communities of color, Indigenous communities, low-income communities, communities that have suffered disinvestment, and communities that have historically borne the brunt of pollution and climate harm;
Expand public and employee ownership by leveraging existing public agencies and assets (including public transit agencies, local housing authorities, public school districts, and electric co-ops), taking equity stakes in companies receiving substantial direct investment (including the airline, fossil fuel, and cruise industries), and conditioning strategic aspects of the stimulus package on worker self-determination measures and cooperatives; and,
Make rapid cuts to carbon pollution consistent with keeping global warming as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as the climate science tells us is required to limit further climate breakdown, and protect salaries, benefits, and retirements of fossil fuel workers.
Below, we outline a menu of practical policy interventions that align with these principles and strategies. Many of these interventions could be implemented by state and local governments and would benefit from immediate, purposeful planning and preparation, nearly all of which could be done remotely (including mass public procurement, targeted bridge loans and other emergency financial instruments, and expanded tax credits and rebates for high-priority sectors). The menu includes:
1. Housing, Buildings, Civic Infrastructure, and Communities
2. Transportation Workers, Systems, and Infrastructure
3. Labor, Manufacturing, and Just Transition for Workers and Communities
4. Energy System Workers and Infrastructure
5. Farmers, Food Systems, and Rural Communities
6. Green Infrastructure, Public Lands, and the Environment
7. Regulations, Innovation, and Public Investment
8. Green Foreign Policy
This is an inflection point for our nation. This is a pivotal moment to put tens of millions of Americans back to work, building a healthy, clean, and just future. It is heartening to recognize the very broad range of technologies and policy tools at our disposal to ensure that recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic can also dramatically improve the living standards of those most in need — a majority of Americans, in fact.
Moreover, a Green Stimulus agenda is broadly popular, as shown for instance by Data for Progress’s polling around the Green New Deal and green industrial policy. Their latest polling finds majority support for a trillion-dollar investment in green technology. And it finds majority support among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents for a range of public green investments — from renewable energy, to electric buses, underground high-voltage transmission, electric minivans and pickup trucks for rural and suburban areas, smart grid technology, retrofitting buildings with an emphasis on low-income housing, and battery technology.
Finally, we have the opportunity to learn from and improve on the inadequate 2008–2010 stimulus that resulted in a sluggish recovery and centered firms and companies instead of workers. We need a bigger stimulus, more investment in low-carbon projects, and more immediate relief for Main Street. Now is the time to begin the political debate, and legislative work to pass Green Stimulus policies to create jobs, lift up communities, and tackle the climate emergency as we rebuild the economy.
The co-authors of this letter, and endorsing signatories, are listed below, after our policy menu. We call on Members of Congress to consider and carry forward these policy ideas in this forthcoming and any future stimulus packages, to ensure addressing current public health crisis doesn’t exacerbate the climate crisis.
A Green Stimulus Policy Menu
1. HOUSING, BUILDINGS, CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE, AND COMMUNITIES
Massively expand the federal Weatherization Assistance Program to cut utility costs and eliminate homes’ carbon emissions, fund state-level equivalent programs, and provide grants to community-based weatherization programs to scale up local efforts, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Place moratoria on electricity, gas, and water shutoffs and late fees and reconnect those disconnected prior to the crisis, and rental evictions. Suspend rent and mortgage payments, without fees, and with potential to forgive payments. This will protect the most vulnerable, from some of the immediate effects of the recession and provide indirect income support to communities of color, Indigenous communities, and low-income communities.
Expand funding to and beneficiaries of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, (LIHEAP), while green retrofits are underway. Change eligibility to 200–250% of federal poverty line, thus increasing program beneficiaries. Work to make enrollment automatic based on tax credits, and expand outreach to households that may not have anyone who files.
Repeal the Fairthcloth Amendment and infuse funds into the National Housing Trust Fund (eg, $50 billion in year 1, $100 billion year 2, $150 billion in year 3) for no-carbon mixed-income social housing, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Double tax-credits for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit affordable housing construction, mandate zero-carbon standard for operational carbon (building operations), and a low-carbon standard for embodied emissions of building materials. Fund union apprenticeship programs in communities of color, Indigenous communities, and low-income communities.
Pass and funding the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act, to begin immediate public housing retrofits that improve living conditions, create tens of thousands of union jobs for public housing residents and other, nearby low-income workers, and create a new mass market for green building materials.
Commence immediate public procurement of building materials and appliances to retrofit public housing, federally funded Indian housing, and all relevant government and military buildings. Offer states, cities, and other public agencies the ability to join these heavily discounted bulk purchase orders.
Invest in dramatic improvements to housing conditions throughout Indian Country through healthy, sustainable retrofits, creating thousands of jobs in those communities.
Fund school retrofits across the country, with priority for Title 1 schools. Remove fossil fuels, install heat pumps for heating and cooling, and remove all toxic and unhealthy materials including lead, mold, and asbestos, and create tens of thousands of jobs. Increase funding for wraparound services and to make school year-round resiliency hubs for their communities, including by providing disaster relief services.
Establish a federal green and equitable housing fund, to partner with municipalities that invest in rent-controlled housing for low-income citizens near transit hubs.
Ensure government-funded construction projects take sea-level rise into account. Restore the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard, and, unless required for national security, do not build any new federal buildings within 3 feet of the historic 100-year coastal flood elevation.
Require states to adopt most advanced current building energy codes, reach codes (e.g. “Zero Code”), and local land use and zoning reforms (e.g., the abolition of parking minimums and single-family zoning) including the provision of competitive, supplemental funding for state and local governments that adopt these reforms. Green building grants should include funding to hire staff in state and local government to internally manage the planning and implementation.
Enact federal zoning regulation reform to facilitate construction of both dense and affordable housing, with a priority to building near public transit, to ensure new social housing is located in walkable and transit accessible-neighborhoods.
Develop a subsidy and loan regime to support decarbonizing the building energy use, which would also cut utility costs for homes and businesses, and spur US manufacturing of more affordable, and efficient electric heat pumps, heat-recovery ventilation units, energy-efficient lighting, and building controls.
Develop a subsidy and loan regime to support decarbonizing construction materials and increasing the carbon-sequestration potential of our building stock through increased use of carbon-smart forestry, engineered-wood/mass timber, low-carbon concrete, fossil fuel free insulation materials, and increased use of plant-based build materials made from agricultural wastes and waste fiber streams, such as hempcrete, compressed strawboard, wood fiberboard insulation, etc. This would support American manufacturing, forestry and agriculture sectors.
Develop a national green rental subsidy program that provides incentives to landlords for passing the savings accrued from solar and energy efficiency on to tenants (i.e., rentals free of utility charges).
Implement a green mortgages program through all federally backed mortgage lending that includes an incentive program of 50 basis point reduction in mortgages for zero carbon emissions homes and 25 basis points for zero carbon emissions-ready homes.
Fully resource ($10 billion) the Public Housing Operating Fund to ensure residents employed in management and on-site jobs are protected, ongoing green retrofit and maintenance contracts are fulfilled, and that local housing authorities are fully prepared to meet their obligations to their communities.
Provide new funding through the National Endowment for the Arts, Smithsonian, and other federal cultural institutions to support out-of-work artists, designers, and other makers.
Create a Climate Justice Resiliency Fund to ensure our infrastructure and communities are protected from the unavoidable impacts of climate change. Begin with a national survey to identify areas with high vulnerability to climate impacts, public health challenges, environmental hazards, and other socioeconomic factors. Create grants for communities to fund projects to safeguard vulnerable groups from extreme weather and other environmental harms. And establish an Office of Climate Resiliency for People with Disabilities within the fund to meet specific needs of people with disabilities.
2. TRANSPORTATION WORKERS, SYSTEMS, AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Provide direct transfers to local transit authorities to ensure they remain solvent, well-maintained, and ready for active service when the pandemic recedes. Local transit authorities are existing, publicly-owned and operated entities managing trillions of dollars worth of capital infrastructure, employing thousands of workers, and they simply cannot be allowed to fail.
Create thousands of new construction jobs by investing in projects that incentivize densification, including Equitable Transit Oriented Development with an emphasis on affordable housing, through the USDOT.
Revive the Partnership for Sustainable Communities interagency initiative to align local, place-based economic stimulus projects administered by the USDOT, HUD, and EPA.
Create thousands of new jobs by offering grants and no-interest, no-match loans to local transit agencies and municipal governments to complete their backlog of shovel-ready ADA-compliance and Complete Streets projects. All disruptive roadway work should be paired with upgrades to sanitary sewer systems and other utilities whenever possible.
Provide grants and loans to local transit agencies and school boards to fund the purchase of electric railcars and engines and electric buses and electric school buses, with the goal of ending all diesel bus purchases by 2025. This must also include targeted investment to support electric bus and railcar manufacturing capacity within the automobile industry in the United States.
Create a “Fix It First” mandate for infrastructure and public works projects, as outlined here, requiring all new USDOT funding and financing be directed towards the maintenance and repair of existing roadways, bridges, and other projects. This also includes upgrading commuter rail lines to meet Positive Train Control standards and installing dedicated bike and bus lanes.
3. LABOR, MANUFACTURING, AND JUST TRANSITION FOR WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES
Provide grants and no-interest loans to develop and accelerate US manufacturing of electric buses (including school buses), electric pickup trucks, electric cars, and other electric vehicles; and, energy-efficient electric appliances.
Create a federal fund to support formation of worker cooperatives aligned with the goals of rapid decarbonization, such as solar panel installation, regenerative agriculture, urban community gardens, and larger-scale urban farming.
Implement a Green Durable Goods policy to ensure continued production of essential green products, via massive infusion of federal funds into electric appliance, vehicle, etc. manufacturing. Use direct government purchase of high volumes of green goods to drive increases of green capacity during economic slowdown, as done during the Second World War. Give priority to manufacturers who partner with pre-approved union apprenticeship programs.
Create a cash for appliances program, funded at least $1 billion, modeled on the Obama stimulus measure, but mandating recycling of all old appliances with a particular focus on preventing HFC leakage.
Create a public option for electric vehicles, appliances, and other durable goods procurement. All other governments, co-operatives, and non-profit entities would be eligible to place individual orders through this mass federal procurement, with grants and no-interest loans to support their purchases through the Department of Commerce.
Create a “feebate” program to transfer a pollution surcharge to those who purchase cleaner products. Include a low-income carbon credit so that individuals making within 200% of the federal poverty threshold and in rural households receive 2x or 4x the benefit for the purchase of energy efficient models.
Create an expansive Women in Cleantech (WiC) training and entrepreneurial support program through the Small Business Administration.
Provide new opportunities for disadvantaged American green entrepreneurial training and start-up grants through the Small Business Administration.
Provide just transition benefits for all workers in fossil fuel industries, including five years of wage replacement for displaced workers, housing assistance, job training opportunities, health insurance coverage, pension support, and priority job placement for displaced workers. Provide early retirement support where appropriate.
Provide tax revenue replacement support for communities impacted by the cessation of extraction and use of fossil fuels.
Identify and invest in economic diversification strategies for fossil fuel regions by fully funding the project backlog at the Appalachian Regional Commission, Great Lakes Commission, and Delta Regional Authority and creating similar projects in other fossil fuel regions.
Provide new funding to support opportunities for low-income women to pursue advanced training, new sustainable technologies, and formation of worker cooperative businesses in women’s traditional industries, including textile and apparel.
4. ENERGY SYSTEM WORKERS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Create a national clean energy standard through the EPA that applies to all power providers including rural electric cooperatives, climbing steeply to 100% carbon-free energy by 2030.
Restore the clean energy tax credits and offer a direct incentive to businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, tribes, and low income community members, extending the credit to energy storage so renewable energy sources can provide firm, reliable ‘baseload’ energy.’
Make all clean energy tax credits (including for consumers) immediately deployable; for consumers they should be immediate and refundable rebates, particularly investing in distributed and community renewable energy to build community wealth and resilience.
Make regulatory changes to accelerate the environmental review process for clean energy, storage, high voltage transmission, charging stations, and other low-carbon infrastructure projects, inspired by recent reforms in New York State Government, while respecting Indigenous sovereignty and ensuring no sacrifice of public safety.
Provide a revolving fund through a joint Department of Energy and Treasury initiative to acquire and/or purchase fossil fuel firms that are going bankrupt in order to decommission assets and provide a just transition for affected workers and communities.
Require a rapid phaseout of fracking and offshore and onshore oil and gas drilling, end new extraction, and end fossil fuel exports, in conjunction with the rapid expansion and unionization of clean energy generation.
Protect the right of clean energy workers to unionize their workplaces, and incentivize worker ownership in the sector.
End all fossil fuel subsidies and redirect the funds to help directly-impacted workers and communities in the energy transition.
Authorize Treasury, federal agencies, and other federal lenders to forgive all government-held fossil fuel debt of rural electric coops and municipal utilities.
Provide grants and no-interest, no-match loans to all electricity co-ops contingent on rapid decarbonization including implementation of battery storage technology at distribution and end-user levels.
Provide substantial finance to support the development and deployment of community-shared solar programs, which may work in tandem with the Department of Energy’s technical assistance program for community solar.
Plan and fund rapid decarbonization of Tennessee Valley Authority and other federally-owned power supplies, and provide logistical and financial support for a mandated decarbonization of rural electricity cooperatives and public power.
5. FARMERS, FOOD SYSTEMS, AND RURAL COMMUNITIES
Strengthen organic standards and reform agricultural subsidies so that federal support goes to small producers who make investments in their communities and the environment.
Re-staff and fully fund the USDA and EPA science offices, and the network of agriculture extension offices, to quantify carbon reductions. Support regenerative agriculture and compensate farmers (including regenerative ocean farmers) for carbon reduction practices, such as carbon sequestration in soils, the transition to regional and local farming initiatives, and other practices based on the quantified carbon abatement or sequestration (carbon negative land use) of the practices.
Prevent food shortages and surpluses by establishing supply management programs and a parity pricing system for farmers that both ensures farmers, farm workers, and every worker along the food chain a living wage and ensures consumers a high-quality, stable, and ensures local supply of agricultural goods.
Empower the USDA to track, report, and address instances of “food deserts’’ in low-income and inner-city areas by ensuring that fair market priced goods, including organic foods, are available with similar quality and diversity as in other parts of the country.
Support indigenous farming practices and end biopiracy and contamination of native seeds by fully supporting the work of the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) within the Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations.
Enhance programs for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers as outlined in the 2018 Farm Bill, to give them fair access to land and resources. Recognize historical crimes and injustices through a commitment to reparations for black farmers and indigenous communities. One such policy is to stand up a federally backed land trust to buy land from retiring farmers that would then be sold interest-free to farmers of color.
Incentivize community and cooperatively owned farmland to support local communities and urban residents, including by expanding USDA’s Local Agriculture Market Program, and funding food hubs and distribution centers.
Make government-owned farmland available as incubator farms for beginning farmers
Pass comprehensive legislation that provides grants and technical assistance to mitigate climate change by transitioning to independent family farming practices that are regenerative, ecologically sound, improve soil health, and sequester carbon in soil.
Create a new USDA program dedicated to research and policy development for ocean-based farming. Support regenerative ocean farming, a burgeoning, low-carbon industry focused on seaweeds and shellfish, including through the USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and Biomass Crop Assistance Program, as described in the Blue New Deal.
Direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service to issue new guidance and regulations to better prepare fishing industries and communities for the impacts of climate change.
Support the shift towards healthy food consumption, by expanding access to the quality of food available through nutrition support programs such as TANF, SNAP, and WIC and classify Farmers Markets as “essential services.”
Direct the Farm Service Agency to issue no-interest, no-match loans via its land contract guarantee program to ensure failing industrial agricultural land is made available to new and small family farmers whenever possible; and issue no-interest, no-match loans to fund equipment purchases, organic and specialty crop operations, and alternative farming practices.
Secure the rights of migrant and permanent resident workers and their families to healthcare, food, and shelter without prejudice to pathways to future citizenship.
6. GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC LANDS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Create a Clean Water Corps that provides no-interest loans for municipalities and counties to invest in repairing/replacing combined and sanitary sewer systems, building out alternative stormwater management systems (green infrastructure), and performing other abatement measures (replacing lead pipes and upgrading treatment facilities). Pass the WATER ACT.
Create a new Civilian Conservation Corps through the Corporation for National and Community Service, chartered to hire workers to restore ecosystems, including forests and wetlands, modeled on the California Conservation Corps.
Create thousands of new jobs maintaining green infrastructure and climate resilient landscapes by providing new grants and formula funding through the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
Electrify and modernize our ports, to reduce harmful air pollution and prepare for sea level rise, as described in the Blue New Deal.
Direct and fully fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear their backlog of beneficial dredge, habitat restoration, climate adaptation, and infrastructure maintenance projects.
Direct and fully fund HUD, DOT, and EPA to fast-track the approval and implementation of local parks and open space plans through no-interest loans and competitive grants for state, local and tribal governments.
Provide grants to state and local governments to establish “energy parks”that combine recreation (e.g., walking and biking trails, swimming areas, etc.) with clean energy generation, storage, and transmission infrastructure (e.g., wind turbines, PV panels, and battery centers).
Provide funds to public community colleges, colleges, and universities to develop and implement climate risk management plans and green economy training programs.
Provide new permanent funding for HUD, DOT, EPA, National Parks Service, U.S. Forest Service, and other built and natural environment-focused agencies to hire new architects, landscape architects, planners, and program managers to coordinate the surge in new projects produced by the stimulus, as outlined here.
7. REGULATIONS, INNOVATION, AND PUBLIC INVESTMENT
Capitalize a national green investment bank to provide no-income (or Fed funds rate) loans to firms and consumers for any green retrofits, low-carbon investment, etc. Minimum $100 billion for initial capitalization.
Immediately pass a Federal Reserve Bank Act to make green bonds as secure as treasury bills, to drive down the cost of green investment.
Require that any bailouts or bridge loans to large corporations, like airlines and cruise lines, be contingent on economic, social, and ecological conditions: 10-year plan to substantially cut majority of carbon pollution with targets every two years; use funds to maintain payroll; government gaining long-term preferred shares or other equity in bailed out firms; provide $15 minimum wage within one year; no share buy-backs or dividends; set asides seats on corporate boards for labor representatives; maintain collective bargaining agreements.
Direct the Departments of Energy and Treasury to assume a larger share of the financial risks resulting from decarbonization and price fluctuations by requiring U.S. banks to report annually how much fossil fuel equity and debt is created, and/or held as assets, with respect to all fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure.
Diminish financial risks resulting from decarbonization and price fluctuations by instructing the SEC Office of Credit Ratings to direct credit rating agencies to impose process standard — like climate due diligences — that incorporate the physical and financial risks that climate change presents to securities and other financial assets, as well as to the companies that issue them.
Restore a climate test, such as the social cost of carbon, as a metric for federal procurement and permitting decisions. These tests should be consistent with the goal of limiting warming to as close as is possible to 1.5°C.
Reevaluate the discount rates used in all benefit-cost analyses. The discount rates currently used in regulatory analysis have not been updated since 2003, and as the Council of Economic Advisers pointed out in a January 2017 report both the economic understanding of discounting and the real economy have evolved since then.
Provide technical and financial assistance to state universities, community colleges, and technical schools in launching green energy and economy training programs and degree options.
Elevate EPA and NOAA Administrators to full Cabinet Secretary status.
Ensure major government green procurement purchases are both green and include project-labor agreements or prevailing wage requirements (renewable energy, storage, retrofits, low-carbon cement, etc).
Provide immediate federally-backed bridge loan support to green firms.
Streamline and fast-track permitting for offshore wind energy, and subsidize offshore wind farm projects, while ensuring projects are sited based on environmental impact assessments, and that Community Benefit Agreements are in place to ensure communities onshore of wind farms receive a share of the benefits as this industry develops. Do not allow visual and aesthetic impacts to be considered as a factor for denying permits (See Blue New Deal plan.)
Increase ARPA-E funding by up to 100x and look to develop parallel agencies in the Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, and Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Ensure that federal research and development funds in ARPA-E include funding directed to the Mariner program to develop macroalgae for use as feedstock for fuels and chemicals, as well as animal feed.
Double the budgets for the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Office of Science.
Enable communities to invest in their own low-carbon infrastructure through state-owned public banks.
8. GREEN FOREIGN POLICY
Reinstate and expand Science Envoy Program to assist US embassies in partnering with ministries, emerging cleantech companies, and university partnerships and exchange.
Expedite aid packages, including green technology transfers, with priority funds for lowest income countries that adopt national 1.5 degree C roadmaps.
Ensure fair trade agreements are centered on worker and environmental protections and (where applicable) include indigenous consultation.
Support local and sustainable farming systems in the US and internationally by removing agriculture from the purview of the World Trade Organization, investing new resources in sustainable timber and forest management cooperatives and companies through the USDA’s Climate Smart Forestry and Agriculture Initiative, and creating new markets in the building industry for sustainably harvested cross laminated timber and other sustainable wood products.
Classify food supply security as a national security issue and pass trade policies that safeguard food security and food sovereignty at home and around the globe.
End all funding, direct and indirect, of fossil fuel infrastructure through multilateral organizations connected to the United States, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, OPIC, and the Export-Import Bank.
Increase funding to the Green Climate Fund to help grow the green economy worldwide, to make U.S. contribution to Green Climate Fund in line with historical U.S. fair share of historical contribution to climate emergency. Consider a progressive tax on the highest carbon-emitting polluters to finance this contribution.
NOTE: The ideas here draw on proposals from a range of Democratic primary campaigns, in particular those of Corey Booker, Julian Castro, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Jay Inslee, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, and Elizabeth Warren.
CO-AUTHORS
Note: affiliations are listed for informational purpose only, and do not imply organizational endorsement.
Johanna Bozuwa, Co-Manager, Climate & Energy Program, The Democracy Collaborative (@johannabozuwa)
J. Mijin Cha, Assistant Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy, Occidental College; Fellow at Cornell University Worker Institute; Senior Fellow at Data for Progress. (@jmijincha)
Daniel Aldana Cohen, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Director of the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative, or (SC)2, University of Pennsylvania; Senior Fellow at Data for Progress. (@aldatweets)
Billy Fleming, Wilks Family Director of the Ian L. McHarg Center (@mchargcenter), University of Pennsylvania; Senior Fellow at Data for Progress. (@joobilly)
Jim Goodman, Food sovereignty advocate, signing without organizational affiliation
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Ph.D, Marine biologist, founder of Ocean Collectiv and Urban Ocean Lab, and advisor to the Blue New Deal plan. (@ayanaeliza)
Daniel M Kammen, Professor in the Energy and Resources Group, the Goldman School of Public Policy, and in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. Former Science Envoy, United States State Department. (@dan_kammen)
Julian Brave NoiseCat, Vice President of Policy & Strategy, Data for Progress (@jnoisecat)
Mark Paul, Assistant Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, New College of Florida; Fellow, Roosevelt Institute; Senior Fellow, Data for Progress. (@MarkVinPaul)
Raj Patel, Research Professor, Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin; Research Associate, Unit for Humanities at Rhodes University (UHURU), South Africa. (@_RajPatel)
Thea Riofrancos, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Providence College; Senior Fellow at Data for Progress; Faculty Collaborator at Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative, or (SC)2. (@triofrancos)
We will post the document and links at 1:00 PM PDT, Monday, March 23 to coincide with our news conference
WHO WILL BE SPEAKING:
Johanna Bozuwa, Co-Manager, Climate & Energy Program, The Democracy Collaborative (@johannabozuwa)
Mijin Cha, Assistant Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy, Occidental College; Fellow at Cornell University Worker Institute; Senior Fellow at Data for Progress. (@jmijincha)
Daniel Aldana Cohen, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Director of the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative, or (SC)2, University of Pennsylvania; Senior Fellow at Data for Progress. (@aldatweets)
Billy Fleming, Wilks Family Director of the Ian L. McHarg Center (@mchargcenter), University of Pennsylvania; Senior Fellow at Data for Progress. (@joobilly)
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Ph.D., Marine biologist, founder of Ocean Collectiv and Urban Ocean Lab, and advisor to the Blue New Deal plan. (@ayanaeliza)
Daniel M Kammen, Professor in the Energy and Resources Group, the Goldman School of Public Policy, and in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. Former Science Envoy, United States State Department. (@dan_kammen)
Julian Brave NoiseCat, Vice President of Policy & Strategy, Data for Progress (@jnoisecat)
Mark Paul, Assistant Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, New College of Florida; Fellow, Roosevelt Institute; Senior Fellow, Data for Progress. (@MarkVinPaul)
Thea Riofrancos, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Providence College; Senior Fellow at Data for Progress; Faculty Collaborator at Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative, or (SC)2. (@triofrancos)
WHEN: Monday, March 23rd, 1:00 EDT
WHERE: Zoom, https://zoom.us/j/160467679
Meeting ID: 160 467 679
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Johanna Bozuwa, J. Mijin Cha, Daniel Aldana Cohen, Billy Fleming, Jim Goodman, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Daniel M Kammen, Julian Brave NoiseCat, Mark Paul, Raj Patel, Thea Riofrancos (2020) “A green stimulus to rebuild our economy” (2020) The Medium,
https://medium.com/@green_stimulus_now/a-green-stimulus-to-rebuild-our-economy-1e7030a1d9ee
To view the entire document, click here.
Economics, technology, and global public opinion are driving the surge in wind and solar renewable energy resources, with changes developing at a pace few had anticipated.
A “revolution” in use of renewable energy is embracing not only the electrical sector, but also, and increasingly, the transportation sector, the current Yale Climate Connection video points out.
The video portrays a range of energy experts pointing to the surge in wind and solar use – fueled by decreasing costs, improving technology, and global civil concerns over air pollution and adverse health effects. Experts point to impressive growth of renewable energy not only in China, India, and western Europe, but also in politically conservative states in “the heart of the country,” says long-time journalist Keith Schneider, senior editor with Circle of Blue.
“You cannot out-source solar and wind investments the way you can with natural gas or oil that might go off-shore,” says Dan Kammen, energy professor at Stanford University. The video shows footage of General Motors and Royal Dutch Shell executives singing the praises of renewables.
“The next buy I do is my next car, which will be an electric vehicle,” says Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurnden. “We need to be at a much higher degree of electric vehicle penetration.”
The video points to Volvo plans to phase out “conventional engines” by 2019. The Rocky Mountain Institute’s Amory Lovins points to aggressive renewable energy plans by India, Germany, and Holland over the next two-and-a-half decades. Experts point to plans by the United Kingdom and France to ban sales of gas and diesel engines by 1940 and to growth of wind and solar energy across the U.S. Midwest.
In looking at the post-Paris climate agreement outlook, the video explores implications of the Trump administration’s withdraw from the Paris agreement. It delves into impacts on climate change, but also on likely impacts of a declining U.S. role in international diplomacy. “Problematic,” says Andrew Hoffman of the University of Michigan, adding that China and other countries are taking the approach that “if you don’t want to lead, then we’ll lead.”
Kammen sees U.S. companies increasingly being at a “very significant economic disadvantage” with no fixed price on carbon.
New video explores 'revolution' in use of #RenewableEnergy. CLICK TO TWEET
Schneider, a former environmental reporter with the New York Times, says he fears the U.S. has ceded its leadership responsibility in the coming clean-energy economy, which Hoffman says is unquestionably the market of the future. Schneider says his concerns especially involve the U.S.’s walking away from being “a big part, should be the leading part” of the 21st century global economy.
Katy Zhen (she/her) is a 2025 American Fisheries Society (AFS) Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Scholar. She is a rising senior at Castilleja High School who is interested in all aspects of sustainability and environmental science. She is supporting RAEL’s research on the simultaneous growth of blue economy industries and marine renewable energy.
Seldom do we have an opportunity to stop an environmental crisis before it begins. This is one of those opportunities. The mining industry is on the brink of excavating the deep ocean, creating a new environmental disaster with irreversible consequences for our ocean and climate. We urgently need a deep-sea mining moratorium to thoughtfully assess the full impact before a new crisis is created.
Deep-sea mining would wreak enormous damage. Massive machines digging, dredging, and vacuuming up the ocean floor would create huge sediment plumes deep in the ocean that will drift on currents, smothering marine life, including species not yet discovered. Surface-level processing ships would dump tailings—the waste materials left after the target mineral is extracted from ore—back into the ocean, killing plant and animal life as it drifts through the water column, releasing acidic and toxic sediment hazardous to fish and those who consume it. This process would disrupt the ocean’s vast natural carbon capture and sequestration system, and release greenhouse gas from the seabed floor, accelerating climate change.
The reason for this enormous destruction is simple—so a few mining companies can reap a profit. But this motive is hidden behind a clever greenwashing campaign.
The mining companies’ justification for deep-sea mining is based on a big lie—that we need deep-ocean minerals for electric car batteries and the transition to green energy. We don’t. New longer-lasting car batteries are becoming available that don’t need deep sea minerals, including batteries based on graphene aluminum-ion, lithium-iron phosphate, iron-flow, and solid-state technologies. We also have the option of low-cost, no-impact extraction of battery materials, such as lithium and cobalt, directly from seawater. And importantly, a circular economy that prioritizes reducing, reusing, and recycling critical minerals can power the clean energy transition without deep-sea mining—and at a lower cost. Car battery recycling is already a rapidly growing industry. Perhaps the best evidence that deep-sea mining is needless is the strong message from the electric vehicle industry: forward-thinking manufacturers including BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen, Renault, and Rivian are supporting the moratorium.
Mining companies are rapidly advancing their efforts to begin deep-sea mining through their powerful influence on a little-known, secretive organization in Jamaica, the International Seabed Authority. This autonomous organization has been mandated to oversee the world’s deep-sea resources “for the benefit of mankind as a whole.” But it’s become a classic case of the fox guarding the chicken coop. Much of the ISA’s operations are conducted behind closed doors and include questionable deals with selected mining companies. Through opaque processes, the rights to the world’s deep-ocean resources are being auctioned off for the benefit of a few mining companies with scant regard for the rights of the rest of the world.
Deep-sea mining is not a distant threat—it’s a clear and present danger. The ISA has already issued mining exploration contracts covering a staggering 1 million square kilometers (400,000 square miles) of the Pacific Ocean, and is preparing to issue licenses to start large-scale mining as early as July, 2023. The ISA knows the opposition to deep-sea mining is growing as more people become aware of the threat and is now rushing forward the approval process. On September 7, the ISA authorized the mining of 7.2 million pounds of polymetallic nodules in a “collector test.” That operation is now underway.
Urgent action by the U.S. is critical to stop deep-sea mining. We call on President Biden, supported by Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry, to express support of the moratorium at the upcoming climate change conference, COP27, and to use the resources of his administration to halt this needless destruction.
The United Nations should also take action. It should protect the ocean and its resources for all humankind—not allow it to be sacrificed for the profits of a few. We cannot allow the ISA, as it is currently run, to govern the fate of the world’s last global commons: the deep sea. The U.N. and its Secretary General António Guterres should publicly support the moratorium and take action to bring the rogue ISA back in line with the values of the U.N.
***
Sylvia Earle served as the Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She is the founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, a National Geographic Explorer in Residence, Founder of Mission Blue, and an Ocean Elder.
Twitter: @SylviaEarle
Daniel Kammen is the James and Katherine Lau Distinguished Professor of Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley where he directs the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory. He has served as Chief Technical Specialist for Renewable Energy at the World Bank, and Science Envoy in the Obama Administration.
Twitter: @dan_kammen
For the Blue Climate Initiative’s information and campaign for a moratorium on on deep seabed mining, see here:
Opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times, May 17, 2022
To jump to the newspaper,click here.
California can do better than carbon neutrality by 2045
BYDANIEL KAMMEN
Ten years ago, many Californians could not have imagined the climate nightmare we are living today — dark orange skies during wildfire season, heat waves in the dead of winter, mandatory water restrictions amid crippling drought.
Without urgent action, we may well look back on this moment as the calm before the storm. Over the course of the next decade, California’s biggest climate challenges — hotter summers, a shorter rainy season and more destructive wildfires — could double in intensity.
It’s against this backdrop that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) last week released a draft of our state’s scoping plan, a blueprint for combating climate change that will guide California’s policy for years. Despite the stakes for Californians, and although my research indicates the state could actually become carbon negative by 2030, the draft proposal would delay reaching carbon neutral until 2045. The barriers to a target of 2030 are political, not technical.
The draft plan calls for investment in new fossil fuel electricity resources, and it relies on unproven and costly carbon capture technologies that would lock in fossil fuel pollution. Adopting this approach would be lazy, nonsensical and racially unjust. During the current 45-day period for public review of the plan, California has the chance to choose a smarter path.
The Huntington Beach Generating Station includes a natural gas generator that began operation in 2020.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Renewable energy, even when coupled with energy storage, is cheaper than fossil fuels. California’s own state laws say that renewable energy must be prioritized before building out expensive and polluting gas power plants. Instead, California must set ambitious targets that immediately cut pollution through no-regrets strategies.
If we fall short of the climate action that science demands, Californians, and especially lower-income Californians and communities of color, will pay the price. What’s more, we could see this failed model replicated across other states and nations. It’s not hyperbole to say billions of people could be worse off if California fails to lead.
By the same token, if our state sets an ambitious but achievable goal — like carbon neutrality by 2030 or 2035 — the benefits ripple widely. Other states and nations are looking to California. If we set an ambitious target and focus future policy toward meeting it, others are more likely to adapt as well. Even when climate goals are not reached, they keep policies and investments moving in the right direction.
Last summer, when he directed CARB to examine accelerating California’s climate targets to 2035 or sooner, Gov. Gavin Newsom said “science demands we do more.” Having just announced a historic $32-billion investment in climate programs over the next five years, he must now step in and ensure that regulators live up to his call to increase climate ambition across the board.
To get this planning process back on track, regulators must start by correcting the flawed methodology that is the underpinning of their current proposal. CARB’s economic and jobs modeling fails to incorporate both the true cost of delaying emissions reductions and the full health and societal benefits from more ambitious emissions reductions. Put simply, California can create more jobs and more prosperity with renewables than we can with fossil fuels.
In developing the scoping plan, CARB staff used a measure called the social cost of carbon, which puts a dollar value on the damages created by additional greenhouse gas emissions. The problem is, these estimates vastly underestimated the costs of delaying climate action.
If we don’t begin to rapidly reduce fossil fuel pollution, the impacts on California’s healthcare system, our economy, our food supply and our communities will be orders of magnitude greater than what CARB has accounted for. Regulators can correct this by aligning with experts’ latest analysis, which calculates the true social cost of carbon at $50 per ton of pollution emitted.
As a next step, regulators need to acknowledge it is far too late in the game to gamble our state’s future on unproven carbon capture technologies that may never materialize. CARB’s draft scoping plan projects that California will use 100 million metric tons (MMT) of direct air capture in 2045. Globally, only 0.01 MMT of annual direct air capture is happening today. It is unrealistic to assume we can scale up this technology so much overnight, and foolish to direct investment to unproven experiments when affordable natural carbon removal solutions like composting and tree-planting are readily available now.
We have affordable renewable energy technologies available today that not only cut carbon emissions but also tackle our state’s air pollution crisis. California’s scoping plan should mobilize a vast expansion of renewable energy technologies. Instead, the current proposal calls for 10 gigawatts of new natural gas generating capacity — the equivalent of 33 large new gas plants.
There is still time for CARB and Newsom to deliver a bold climate blueprint that centers equity and public health and focuses on a no-regrets approach of renewable energy investment. It’s California’s legacy and lives around the world that are at stake. We cannot afford to fall short.
Daniel Kammen is a professor of sustainability at UC Berkeley. He is a former coordinating author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Kammen in currently serving in the Biden-Harris Administration as Senior Advisor for Energy & Innovation at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) @dan_kammen
October 14, 2021: Build Back Better on Climate Press Event
RAEL director Dan Kammen had the pleasure to appear with
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Eddie Ahn, Executive Director, Brightline Defense, and Rev. Sally Bingham, President Emeritus, Regeneration Project.
Comments by Daniel Kammen
Advisor for Innovative Energy Solutions, US Agency for International Development (USAID)
&
James and Katherine Lau Distinguished Professor of Sustainability
Energy and Resources Group & Goldman School of Public Policy, & Dept of Nuclear Eng., UC Berkeley
Former Science Envoy, US Department of State
Coordinating Lead Author, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Twitter: @dan_kammen | URL: http://rael.berkeley.edu
I could not be more honored than to share the stage with these remarkable Californians who are crafting pro-climate, pro-justice policies for a healthy state and federal economy. Thank you, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Padilla for your efforts and commitment to a just, inclusive, and sustainable energy transition.
California is committed to a carbon neutral economy by 2045, and is in discussions to move that date forward. This commitment has already generated economic and justice returns for residents of the state, and for our neighbors and trading partners.
As part of SB32 and SB100, California committed 35% or more (a floor, not ceiling) of its Cap & Trade revenue funds to meeting the needs of communities of color, of under-served and of fence-line communities. The jobs and equity benefits of this policy are already clear: California now has several times more jobs in the clean energy sector than in the fossil-fuel and current utility sectors. President Biden’s Justice40 and the Build Back Better Act builds on the California goal with an expanded federal effort that invests in smart infrastructure to create jobs, that will also clean the air and water in the most needy communities nationwide.
The move to low-carbon electric vehicle mobility and freight transportation addresses the largest remaining share of California pollution, with over 1 million EV now in use across the state[1]. Justice is vital to meeting climate and community goals. Commitments by ride-sharing companies to 100% EV vehicles fleets by 2030 and making low-cost lease deals available to drivers is an excellent example of a commitment that can be brought forward in time and expanded nationwide[2].
A clean energy economy is huge lift, but it is not enough. We must re-invest in healthy forests, fire-safe communities, and a healthy ocean[3]. Build Back Better begins that reinvestment while launching new sustainable economic sectors such as off-shore wind, green hydrogen, advanced energy storage, affordable green homes, and smart buildings[4].
The world is moving to clean energy – over the last 2 years, 90% of new power plants installed worldwide over use renewable energy. The Build Back Better Act will create opportunities for US exports, and accelerate all of these critically important clean investments in impressive pro-job and pro-justice ways. As the US gets ready for the international climate conference (COP26) next month in Glasgow, Scotland, the Build Back Better Act is what we need economically, socially, environmentally, and morally. It is time to act.
[1] Scott Wiener and Daniel Kammen (2021) “Why housing policy is climate policy,” The New York Times, March 25, 2019. http://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/opinion/california-home-prices-climate.html
[2] Daniel Kammen (2020) “How electric vehicles can help advance social justice,” The San Francisco Chronicle, June 21. https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/How-electric-vehicles-can-help-advance-social-15351293.php
[3] Such as The Blue Climate Initiative, https://www.blueclimateinitiative.org & USAID’s Clean Cities, Blue Ocean Program, https://www.usaid.gov/sri-lanka/press-releases/apr-23-2021-united-states-launches-clean-cities-blue-ocean-program-tackle-plastic-pollution
[4] Daniel Kammen and Manuel Pastor (2021) “Carbon neutral isn’t good enough. California needs to be carbon negative by 2030,” The San Francisco Chronicle, July 31. https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Carbon-neutral-isn-t-good-enough-California-16351149.php
When you look out at the crystal blue skies over California, it doesn’t look like a deadly pandemic.
In fact, the Bay Area is basking in its cleanest air in months, if not years. And we’re not alone. Satellite photos of China show an unprecedented drop in pollution. Worldwide greenhouse gas emissions are falling. And even the planet’s rivers and bays are clearing up, including the famously murky canals of Venice.
At a huge cost to the global economy, Earth is getting a rare gulp of fresh air as society shuts down in the face of the coronavirus outbreak. It’s an environmental boon that decades of green activism could not achieve.
“A green stimulus is a way governments could commit to building back greener, stronger and more equitably,” said Daniel Kammen, a professor of energy at UC Berkeley, who last month helped author a spending proposal sent to Congress from dozens of scientists and academics from across the United States.
The plan includes sweeping government investments in renewable energy, public transit, high-density housing and energy-saving retrofits of homes and businesses.
The $2 trillion stimulus package signed by President Trump last week does not include this type of spending. But Congress has already begun to consider another round of relief, and many Democrats are on board with hefty expenditures on green infrastructure. So far, Republicans have fought such climate-friendly moves as tax credits for renewable energy.
Kammen says there’s room for compromise in the next package. Green programs, for example, could come alongside Republican-sought industry aid, with conditions attached, like limiting pollution.
While lamenting the coronavirus outbreak, Kammen says few people would be opposed to the clean air and fewer greenhouse gas emissions that the world is experiencing now.
“To look at COVID-19 as an environmental benefit is the wrong perspective,” he said. “What it highlights, though, is how much environmental improvement can come with easy transitions.”
The Huntington Beach Generating Station includes a natural gas generator that began operation in 2020.
