Building Blocks for a Low-Carbon Economy: Catalytic Policy and Infrastructure for Decarbonizing the United States by 2050

This working paper analyzes the policy and investment frameworks required for the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50–52% by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050, evaluating the roles of tax incentives, performance standards, and infrastructure investments.

• To meet the Biden administration's goals of a 50–52% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net-zero by midcentury, the United States must accelerate the deployment of both existing and new low-carbon technologies through federal policies, investments, and infrastructure development.
• While tax credits and climate-smart infrastructure investments improve technology adoption, they are insufficient alone to reach 2050 goals. Performance standards—including clean electricity, zero-emissions vehicles, low-carbon fuels, and appliance efficiency—are essential for net-zero emissions, particularly without economy-wide carbon pricing. Additionally, negative emissions technologies and enhanced land sinks are required for hard-to-mitigate sectors.
• Decarbonizing the U.S. economy is considered economically feasible. Compared to a Reference Scenario with reference oil prices, net costs would be $40 billion (0.2% of GDP) higher in 2030, but by 2050, there would be a net savings of $113 billion, or 0.3% of GDP.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Building Blocks for a Low-Carbon Economy: Catalytic Policy and Infrastructure for Decarbonizing the United States by 2050. https://www.wri.org/research/building-blocks-low-carbon-economy

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Building Blocks for a Low-Carbon Economy: Catalytic Policy and Infrastructure for Decarbonizing the United States by 2050. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/building-blocks-low-carbon-economy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Building Blocks for a Low-Carbon Economy: Catalytic Policy and Infrastructure for Decarbonizing the United States by 2050 |url=https://www.wri.org/research/building-blocks-low-carbon-economy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendbuilding, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Building Blocks for a Low-Carbon Economy: Catalytic Policy and Infrastructure for Decarbonizing the United States by 2050}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/building-blocks-low-carbon-economy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }