By the Numbers: How the U.S. Economy Can Benefit from Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The document outlines how the U.S. economy can benefit from reducing greenhouse gas emissions in electric generation, electricity consumption, passenger vehicles, natural gas, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). It highlights cost savings for consumers and businesses, the decreasing cost of renewable energy and electric vehicle batteries, and the potential for increased industry revenues through methane leak reduction.

• Reducing emissions in electric generation is increasingly cost-effective, with solar panel prices dropping 80 percent since 2008. New natural gas generation is 19-44% cheaper than new coal generation in the U.S., and some solar projects, such as one by Austin Energy, can reach prices of 5 cents per kilowatt hour, making them competitive with natural gas even without tax credits.
• Energy efficiency measures in homes and businesses offer substantial savings; federal appliance standards implemented since 2009 are projected to save consumers $450 billion in electric bills through 2030. Between 2009 and 2012, energy efficiency was 50-67% cheaper for utilities than investing in new electricity sources like coal or natural gas plants.
• The transition to cleaner passenger vehicles provides long-term savings, with owners expected to save between $3,400 and $5,000 over the lifetime of model year 2025 vehicles due to federal fuel economy standards. Electric vehicle battery prices have fallen 40% since 2008, and reducing vehicle emissions by 80% below 2005 levels could result in fuel cost savings of $670 billion to $2.3 trillion between 2010 and 2050.
• Addressing methane leaks in the natural gas supply chain can increase industry revenues by $1.5 billion annually if best practices are adopted, while reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 150 million metric tons by 2020. Additionally, reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from these systems addresses public health damages estimated at $2,640 per metric ton of VOCs emitted.
• Reducing the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) is economically viable, with the U.S. able to reduce HFC emissions by 40% by 2030 using measures that are break-even or have a negative price. Corporate examples include Coca-Cola using 1 million HFC-free coolers and Heineken achieving a 15% price saving on coolers by purchasing HFC-free models at scale.
• Climate inaction carries rising costs, exemplified by the 2011 Texas heat wave which caused $5 billion in crop and livestock losses. The President’s Council of Economic Advisors indicates that every decade of delay in mitigation will increase costs by 40 percent.

APA

World Resources Institute (2014). By the Numbers: How the U.S. Economy Can Benefit from Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions. https://www.wri.org/insights/numbers-how-us-economy-can-benefit-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions

Chicago

World Resources Institute. By the Numbers: How the U.S. Economy Can Benefit from Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions. 2014. https://www.wri.org/insights/numbers-how-us-economy-can-benefit-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=By the Numbers: How the U.S. Economy Can Benefit from Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions |date=10 October 2014 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/numbers-how-us-economy-can-benefit-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2014numbers, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{By the Numbers: How the U.S. Economy Can Benefit from Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2014}, month = oct, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/numbers-how-us-economy-can-benefit-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }