America’s New Climate Economy: A Comprehensive Guide to the Economic Benefits of Climate Policy in the United States

The document assesses the economic benefits of transitioning to a low-carbon economy in the United States, highlighting that clean energy investments create more jobs than fossil fuel spending and that renewable energy is increasingly cost-competitive. It warns that delaying climate action could result in annual GDP losses of 1-10% by 2100, while emphasizing the potential for revitalizing rural communities and boosting the domestic manufacturing sector through cleantech.

• Delaying climate action exposes the United States to significant economic risks, with projected annual GDP damages of 1-3% by 2100, potentially rising to 3.7-10% in a worst-case scenario.
• Renewable energy and storage are now cost-competitive with fossil fuels without subsidies; approximately 75% of the U.S. coal fleet is more expensive to operate than building and operating new wind and solar farms.
• The low-carbon sector is a significant employer in the U.S., with zero-emissions power generation supporting 544,000 jobs in 2019, which is more than double the 214,000 jobs provided by fossil fuel generation.
• Clean energy investments are more efficient job creators than fossil fuel investments, with $1 million spent on clean energy generating more than twice as many jobs in the short- to medium-term.
• Ambitious climate action in the U.S. would require additional energy investments of up to 2% of GDP, a figure that is manageable given that historical energy spending has reached as high as 13% of GDP.
• The U.S. advanced energy industry is a major economic driver, generating $238 billion in revenue in 2018, representing approximately 15% of the global total.
• Climate policies can benefit rural areas by reducing energy burdens for low-income households—potentially saving them over $475 annually through efficiency upgrades—and providing income to landowners via wind farm lease payments and taxes.
• Between 2005 and 2017, 41 U.S. states and the District of Columbia successfully increased their real GDP while simultaneously reducing energy-related CO2 emissions.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). America’s New Climate Economy: A Comprehensive Guide to the Economic Benefits of Climate Policy in the United States. https://www.wri.org/research/americas-new-climate-economy-comprehensive-guide-economic-benefits-climate-policy-united

Chicago

World Resources Institute. America’s New Climate Economy: A Comprehensive Guide to the Economic Benefits of Climate Policy in the United States. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/americas-new-climate-economy-comprehensive-guide-economic-benefits-climate-policy-united.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=America’s New Climate Economy: A Comprehensive Guide to the Economic Benefits of Climate Policy in the United States |url=https://www.wri.org/research/americas-new-climate-economy-comprehensive-guide-economic-benefits-climate-policy-united |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendamericas, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{America’s New Climate Economy: A Comprehensive Guide to the Economic Benefits of Climate Policy in the United States}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/americas-new-climate-economy-comprehensive-guide-economic-benefits-climate-policy-united}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }