The Decarbonization Accelerator
Looking for Real U.S. Progress on Climate Change? Look to the States.
Overview
The Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY) is collaborating with Robert J. Klee to showcase state-based innovations that can be leveraged on a national level to help decarbonize the US economy.
Klee is former Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and is currently a lecturer at Yale. Through this initiative, he will explore how leading states, cities, companies, and institutions (like universities and faith-based organizations) have developed policy tools and innovative programs to combat global warming and deeply decarbonize our economy.
Klee argues that these innovative techniques, developed from the laboratory of the states, must be scaled up and adopted quickly and widely if we hope to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This roadmap, if adopted nationally with sufficient speed and ambition, could form the basis for the deep decarbonization of the U.S. economy.
You can find a printable 2-page overview of this initiative here.
What can you do?
Want to take action but are not sure what to do? Below are some ways you can get involved in subnational decarbonization.
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Talk to a friend about what you learned today and spread the word
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Watch this Ted Talk by climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe for ideas on how to talk about it
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Decarbonize your own lifestyle
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Read this blog from Columbia University's Earth Institute on 35 ways to reduce your carbon footprint
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Engage in your local community or business on a climate-related activity
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Work with your local community task force; here's a guidebook we wrote to help Solarize Your Community
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Join your company’s Green Team
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If these don’t exist yet, start one!
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Call your local representative
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Run for a position in local government
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Read this article from NPR on how to run for office
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Continue your education
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Learn more about our Certificate in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy
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Coursera course on Subnational Action on Climate Change – in development!
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Events
From policymakers and public utilities to NGO leaders and private sector executives, we want to start conversations and spark ideas that can considerably decarbonize the U.S. economy.
CBEY hosted regional talks in NYC and Washington, D.C. prior to the start of the pandemic. In these talks, Rob Klee presented his ideas and engage with people on how we might implement this roadmap and enable these initiatives to take root across the country. We then hosted a few events via Zoom.
We are hopeful to schedule additional talks soon. Check back for updates!
