THE COSTS OF DELAY

This fact sheet by Energy Innovation analyzes the economic and environmental costs of delaying the implementation of a recommended energy policy package in the United States. It compares a 'Policy Solutions' package starting in 2016 against a 'Delayed' scenario starting in 2020, both aiming for the same 2030 emissions targets.

• Implementing the recommended Policy Solutions package starting in 2016 is projected to result in approximately $840 billion of cumulative savings between 2016 and 2030, with annual economy-wide savings reaching $122 billion in 2030 alone.
• Delaying the start of these policies by four years (until 2020) would result in a loss of $394 billion in cumulative savings by 2030, as the Delayed scenario only reaches about $445 billion in savings by that time.
• A delayed implementation strategy is less effective at reducing total greenhouse gas emissions over a 15-year period, achieving less than 75% of the total abatement of the Policy Solutions package, despite reaching the same annual emissions level by 2030.
• To meet the same 2030 emissions targets as the 2016 plan, a delayed 2020 scenario requires more aggressive measures: retiring an additional 2.2 gigawatts of coal power plants annually and increasing the carbon tax to $60 per ton by 2030, compared to $50 per ton in the original package.

APA

Energy Innovation (2015). THE COSTS OF DELAY. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/CostsDelay.pdf

Chicago

Energy Innovation. THE COSTS OF DELAY. 2015. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/CostsDelay.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Energy Innovation |title=THE COSTS OF DELAY |date=October 2015 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/CostsDelay.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{energyinnovation2015costs, author = {{Energy Innovation}}, title = {{THE COSTS OF DELAY}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2015}, month = oct, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/CostsDelay.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }