The Road from Paris: A Conversation with the Former Secretary of Energy
Setup
The principal solution to climate change challenges lies with a transformation to an all-of-the-above low carbon energy future. There is no going back. Clean energy technologies have become remarkably competitive in just the last few years. The US is already on a trajectory for meeting our Paris target, with rapid growth in natural gas and renewable power generation and energy efficiency leading the way. Other major economies with comparable or even stronger Paris targets don’t have the same advantages: low cost natural gas, sustained investments in technology, a highly-skilled workforce, a robust national laboratory system and research universities that are second to none. Former Obama Administration Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz says withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is bad for science-based decision making, national and energy security, and innovation. However, there is one note of optimism: cities and states and the business community are primed to keep us on course to the low carbon future that we need.
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