AMERICA'S ENERGY CHOICES

The report analyzes four energy scenarios for the US up to 2030: a Reference case, a Market case, an Environmental case, and a Climate Stabilization case. It finds that shifting toward efficiency and renewables can lead to net economic savings of up to $2.3 trillion and dramatic reductions in CO2 emissions. The authors propose a comprehensive policy framework based on harnessing market forces, establishing efficiency standards, and increasing R&D investment to move the US away from its current reliance on polluting fossil fuels.

• If current policies and trends continue (Reference case), US national energy consumption is projected to rise by 41 percent by 2030, with petroleum consumption increasing by 16 percent and carbon dioxide emissions increasing by 58 percent.
• The Climate Stabilization scenario projects that by 2030, national energy requirements would be nearly half of the Reference case, with renewable energy providing more than 50 percent of the energy supply.
• Under the Climate Stabilization scenario, US carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by more than 25 percent from 1988 levels by 2005, and by more than 70 percent by 2030.
• The transition to a Climate Stabilization energy future is estimated to result in net economic savings of approximately $2.3 trillion over 40 years, calculated as $5 trillion in fuel and electricity savings minus $2.7 trillion in additional investment.
• The report identifies significant energy-saving potential in buildings, with cost-effective savings ranging from 40 percent in new educational buildings to 87 percent for retrofitting existing electric-resistance-heated single-family homes.
• In the personal transportation sector, the Climate Stabilization scenario projects that petroleum consumption in 2030 would drop to 14 percent of the level projected in the Reference scenario.
• The report suggests that biofuels could account for 33 to 43 percent of total energy use for personal transport by 2030 in the three non-Reference scenarios.
• In the electricity sector, the Climate Stabilization scenario assumes the complete retirement of all current coal-fired capacity by 2030, replacing it with natural gas-fired plants, fuel cells, and renewable energy.
• The authors argue that the Bush administration's National Energy Strategy (NES) is inadequate because it anticipates a 13-percent increase in total oil consumption and a 26-percent increase in CO2 emissions by 2010.
• To achieve Climate Stabilization, the report proposes a carbon tax of $25 per ton of CO2 (or $92 per ton of carbon), which would raise approximately $140 billion per year.
• The report recommends increasing the share of the Department of Energy's (DOE) civilian energy R&D budget devoted to energy efficiency and renewable energy from 15 percent to 67 percent over the next decade.
• The analysis suggests that Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for new cars could be raised to 75 mpg by 2030 in the Environmental and Climate Stabilization scenarios.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (1991). AMERICA'S ENERGY CHOICES. https://leap.sei.org/documents/AEC.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. AMERICA'S ENERGY CHOICES. 1991. https://leap.sei.org/documents/AEC.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=AMERICA'S ENERGY CHOICES |date=1991 |url=https://leap.sei.org/documents/AEC.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute1991americas, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{AMERICA'S ENERGY CHOICES}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {1991}, url = {https://leap.sei.org/documents/AEC.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }