ENERGY POLICY SOLUTIONS

The report "ENERGY POLICY SOLUTIONS" by Energy Innovation proposes a cost-effective package of 15 policies designed to help the United States meet its 2025 carbon targets and save approximately $840 billion between 2016 and 2030. These policies were identified using the Energy Policy Simulator, an open-source tool peer-reviewed by institutions including MIT and Stanford University, to analyze thousands of policy combinations across various energy sectors.

• Energy Innovation proposes a set of 15 cost-effective policies that, if enacted together, could save the United States approximately $840 billion between 2016 and 2030 and meet the 2025 carbon target set by President Obama.
• The proposed economy-wide emissions strategy is a revenue-neutral carbon tax starting at $3.33 per ton in 2016 and increasing by $3.33 per ton annually until it reaches $50 per ton in 2030, which aligns with the EPA's median estimate for the social cost of carbon.
• Industrial policy recommendations include reducing methane leaks by 60 percent by 2030, halving F-gas emissions by 2030, achieving a 10 percent improvement in industrial energy intensity by 2030, and converting 15 percent of industrial coal use to natural gas by 2030.
• Transportation goals include a 60 MPG fuel economy standard for new cars by 2030, a 40 percent fuel economy improvement for new heavy-duty vehicles by 2030, and a "feebate" system of $1,500 per 0.01 GPM to incentivize efficient vehicle purchases.
• The power generation strategy aims for 30 percent renewable electricity supply by 2030 and a 10 percent increase in nationwide transmission capacity. It also proposes retiring an additional 34 GW of coal-fired electricity beyond the retirements expected from the Clean Power Plan and Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.
• Building efficiency targets for 2030 include a 20 percent improvement in residential HVAC efficiency, 15 percent more efficient envelopes for new buildings, a 50 percent improvement in new lighting efficiency, and a 20 percent increase in general appliance efficiency.
• The land use policy proposes increasing the United States' forested lands by 1.5 percent by 2030, which equates to an average of 756,000 acres of reforested or newly forested land annually.

APA

Energy Innovation (2015). ENERGY POLICY SOLUTIONS. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/EnergyInnovation-PolicySolutions.pdf

Chicago

Energy Innovation. ENERGY POLICY SOLUTIONS. 2015. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/EnergyInnovation-PolicySolutions.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Energy Innovation |title=ENERGY POLICY SOLUTIONS |date=October 2015 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/EnergyInnovation-PolicySolutions.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{energyinnovation2015energy, author = {{Energy Innovation}}, title = {{ENERGY POLICY SOLUTIONS}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2015}, month = oct, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/EnergyInnovation-PolicySolutions.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }