The Next Chapter for US Green Industrial Strategy

The briefing outlines a three-part agenda for the next US administration to maintain the momentum of its green industrial strategy. It emphasizes the need to bridge the gap between initial investment and long-term economic stability by streamlining permitting, diversifying supply chains to reduce reliance on China, and ensuring that clean energy benefits reach low-income and legacy industrial communities. The author advocates for a 'private-sector-led, government-enabled' framework supported by strategic governance mechanisms to ensure the US remains a global leader in cleantech innovation and manufacturing.

• Recent US federal legislation—the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS), and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—has catalyzed significant investment, with over $126 billion invested in the industrial base over the last two years and nearly half a trillion dollars in clean energy investment since August 2022.
• The US is on track to reduce power sector emissions by 50% by 2030, with renewable electricity expected to exceed one-third of total capacity within the decade. Between 2020 and 2023, over 312,000 clean energy jobs were added, supported by $680 billion in private investment.
• Over-reliance on China for clean energy supply chains creates a strategic vulnerability. The US is pursuing 'reshore,' 'friendshore,' and 'nearshore' strategies to achieve 'N-1 resiliency,' with a specific goal of achieving self-sufficiency in battery cells, cathodes, and modules by 2030.
• While the US leads in absolute RD&D, it is losing ground in clean energy patents and the pace of innovation. Approximately 35% of CO2 reductions needed for a 2050 net-zero scenario rely on technologies that have not yet reached commercial scale, presenting an opportunity for the US to lead in sectors like cement, steel, and aviation.
• Place-based economic policies are successfully directing investment to disadvantaged areas: nearly all high-poverty counties have received funding from BIL, CHIPS, or IRA, and 84% of announced clean investments have gone to counties with college graduation rates below the national average.
• Low-income households face significant energy burdens, spending an average of 14% of their income on energy compared to a 3% national average. The document suggests that EV adoption and grid modernization can blunt price shocks and reduce these costs.

APA

RMI (2024). The Next Chapter for US Green Industrial Strategy. https://rmi.org/resources/the-next-chapter-for-us-green-industrial-strategy/

Chicago

RMI. The Next Chapter for US Green Industrial Strategy. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/the-next-chapter-for-us-green-industrial-strategy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The Next Chapter for US Green Industrial Strategy |date=1 November 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/the-next-chapter-for-us-green-industrial-strategy/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024next, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The Next Chapter for US Green Industrial Strategy}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/the-next-chapter-for-us-green-industrial-strategy/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }