Top Federal Energy Policy Goals

The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) proposes a comprehensive federal strategy to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and oil use by approximately 50% by 2020. The framework prioritizes reducing energy demand through efficiency in buildings, transport, and industry before substituting supply with renewables and biofuels. Key recommendations include implementing 'feebates' for vehicles, establishing a 'Smart Grid', and creating a national 'energy corps' for workforce training. RMI argues that climate protection is profitable and that the U.S. should move toward a system where all energy production and saving methods compete fairly without distorting subsidies.

• RMI estimates that implementing its 17 proposed goals could reduce both U.S. oil use and greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2020, while generating over three million net new jobs by 2012.
• The document advocates for a 'demand first, then substitute supply' approach, identifying building retrofits, efficient vehicles, and industrial efficiency as the primary levers for reducing energy demand.
• To accelerate vehicle turnover and fuel economy, RMI recommends 'feebate' legislation—where inefficient vehicles are surcharged to fund rebates for efficient ones—and a scrap-and-replace program specifically targeting lower-income Americans.
• RMI proposes that all new light-duty vehicles achieve at least 50 MPGe by 2020 and suggests that the U.S. require all new light-duty vehicles to be 'total-flex,' meaning they can burn any fuel from neat alcohol to pure gasoline.
• The strategy calls for the installation of a 'Smart Grid' to enable two-way flows of electricity and information, which would support demand response, the integration of electrified vehicles, and the deployment of variable renewables.
• To address the shortage of skilled labor in the clean energy sector, the document proposes the creation of an 'energy corps' that provides student loan forgiveness in exchange for training in areas such as energy auditing and HVAC engineering.
• RMI argues for the complete 'de-subsidization' of the energy system, suggesting an independent agency document all direct and indirect subsidies to ensure all energy technologies compete on a level playing field.
• The document suggests using federal purchasing power as a market-maker to spur the clean energy economy, specifically through high efficiency standards for federal fleets and coordinating building retrofits with scheduled equipment replacements.

APA

RMI (n.d.). Top Federal Energy Policy Goals. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI-Top-Federal-Energy-Policies.pdf

Chicago

RMI. Top Federal Energy Policy Goals. n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI-Top-Federal-Energy-Policies.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Top Federal Energy Policy Goals |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI-Top-Federal-Energy-Policies.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmindtop, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Top Federal Energy Policy Goals}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI-Top-Federal-Energy-Policies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }