The Policy Consensus for Faster, Cleaner Economic Growth

This policy brief outlines a consensus of six key policy areas identified by the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy to accelerate the transition to clean energy. It argues that these policies can unlock economic opportunities estimated to exceed $1 trillion per year worldwide and provide a pathway to meet the 2 degrees Celsius climate goal by 2030 using existing technologies and business models.

• The World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy identified a consensus among leading research institutes, industry groups, and think tanks on six essential policies for an economical energy transition: integrated policy frameworks to provide long-term direction; carbon pricing via taxes or cap-and-trade to provide stable price signals; the elimination of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies in favor of targeted, market-based clean energy subsidies; increased energy research and development (R&D) funding and public tenders; mandates and standards for energy efficiency in buildings, vehicles, and appliances; and updated electricity market designs to accommodate cost-effective generation and storage.
• The economic incentive for the energy transition extends beyond climate mitigation, with the potential economic opportunity for domestic voters and taxpayers estimated to be more than $1 trillion annually on a global scale.
• Implementing the consensus policy toolbox can enable the market activity required to reduce annual emissions by 2030 by more than twice the amount necessary to stay on a pathway consistent with a 2 degrees Celsius limit.
• Global markets have seen significant price reductions for renewable energy over the previous eight years, with average prices for solar decreasing by 72 percent and wind by 47 percent.
• In the United States, direct investment in energy efficiency was once estimated to provide a 100 percent return on $500 billion.

APA

RMI (2018). The Policy Consensus for Faster, Cleaner Economic Growth. https://rmi.org/resources/policy-consensus-faster-cleaner-economic-growth/

Chicago

RMI. The Policy Consensus for Faster, Cleaner Economic Growth. 2018. https://rmi.org/resources/policy-consensus-faster-cleaner-economic-growth/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The Policy Consensus for Faster, Cleaner Economic Growth |date=7 March 2018 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/policy-consensus-faster-cleaner-economic-growth/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2018policy, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The Policy Consensus for Faster, Cleaner Economic Growth}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/policy-consensus-faster-cleaner-economic-growth/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }