Addressing the Climate Crisis

Solving the climate crisis is a matter of human survival, as well as a moral imperative — we must take immediate action to head off catastrophic damage to our planet’s climate. As President, I will treat the climate crisis with the urgency it demands from the first day forward, as a matter of both domestic and international leadership. I will push immediately for major action, including a mix of incentives and new standards to rapidly catalyze a carbon-free future, as we work in collaboration with nations around the world to address the threat of global climate change.

The truth is that as the climate changes, the greatest impact has been and will continue to be on some of the most vulnerable people in the United States and abroad. Our climate plans will reflect that reality, and prioritize actions that first address the unique challenges of vulnerable communities and populations.

At the same time, addressing climate change is an opportunity for us to expand our innovation economy to workers throughout the nation. A flourishing innovation economy is an opportunity to help address climate change. To realize a carbon-free future, we must quickly develop our solar, wind and other generation alternatives, as well as ever better strategies for energy efficiency and storage. And as they grow, they will create new opportunities for entrepreneurship, new jobs and new exports. Rather than seeing the future as a threat, we can shape our own future, and we can do it in a way that expands opportunity for working people. Workers currently in affected industries, such as oil, gas, and coal industries, and in vulnerable communities most affected by the climate crisis, such as low and coastal communities, should have the first opportunities to build the green future.

As Governor of Massachusetts, I confronted the climate challenge a decade before most political leaders were paying attention to this issue. We developed a national model for addressing climate change by working with our neighboring states on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a successful cap and trade program; planning for and investing in resilience and recovery; closing coal-fired power plants; and building a solar, wind and energy efficiency sector that generated ample alternatives and created tens of thousands of jobs. We used the proceeds from our cap and trade system to invest in energy efficiency. We did all this while doubling clean energy jobs in less than a decade. Where others have plans, I have results. And that experience is a useful practical starting point for my plan for a carbon-free future.

Stop Catastrophic Climate Change

The Patrick Administration will spur a clean energy revolution and transition the United States to a 100% carbon neutral-economy no later than 2040. To realize the full economic upside of this global transition, we need to beat other countries like China to the market for renewable and clean energy. Achieving American dominance in this critical industry requires the federal government to set aggressive standards for energy renewables, and support the workers and entrepreneurs on the cutting edge of clean energy progress.

We will establish robust, step-by-step metrics to assess clean-energy progress, and deploy additional tax incentives and other mechanisms if we are not on track to meet our ambitious 2040 goal.

Our approach will transform the economy by prioritizing:

Electricity and Power Generation. We start by revolutionizing the way we meet our electrical needs in this country by establishing a National Clean Energy Standard, which will function similarly to the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) found already in place in 29 states.

• The policy will impose a minimum federal floor, providing states with the flexibility to comply in the way that meets their own goals. Renewable energy is already the lowest cost new energy resource in many locations, and Clean Energy Standard policies have already been demonstrated to accelerate cost-reductions for renewable energy.
• All zero-emissions resources will be eligible to compete, including wind, solar, hydro-electricity, battery storage, carbon-capture technologies and new innovations that may emerge in the coming decades.
• I will charge the Energy Department and other relevant agencies with establishing competitive markets to reach the 2040 goal at lowest cost, and to allow states the flexibility to exceed federal standards.
• We will eliminate all subsidies currently supporting the coal, oil and natural gas industries, and repurpose those funds — and more — to quadruple our current spend on clean and renewable energy research and development, through a competitive de-carbonization grant-making program run by the Energy Department. We will synchronize clean-energy deployment and development policy across the various existing R&D programs across the government, including ARPA-e.
• Additionally, we will catalyze a new clean-energy industry by increasing federal procurement of de-carbonization technology and policy, and exploring new avenues to partner with and finance private groups developing and deploying clean-tech solutions like soil carbon sequestration.
• As part of our infrastructure strategy, we will fund efforts to remake the electric grid, creating a system that is resilient, clean, efficient, and secure.
• We will finance these efforts alongside infrastructure investments, through additional revenue raised through our tax plan, funds recouped by ending fossil fuels subsidies, and a cap and trade system or targeted carbon pricing.
• Our administration will develop a one-stop shop in the Energy Department for state policymakers and regulators looking for best practices on how to deploy climate solutions in their communities.
• For rural communities in particular, we will provide specific guidance and support to programs designed to harness mitigation and renewable opportunities in the agriculture sector.

Transportation. My administration will restore and strengthen CAFE standards so that tomorrow’s cars and trucks use less gas than today, and work with states and the private sector to accelerate the transition to electric and alternative vehicles.

• We will offer progressive rebates to propel the adoption of electric vehicles by all consumers, and establish new funding sources and incentives for government at all levels to invest in electric vehicles.
• As we re-make the national electric grid, we will invest in and support the deployment of a nationwide electric vehicle charging infrastructure, backed up by renewable sources.
• As contemplated by our infrastructure proposals, we will not fund investments that increase the carbon output to our atmosphere, and will prioritize investments in low-carbon mass transit projects over legacy transportation.

Construction and Industry. We will work with Congress to establish a national standard for energy efficiency in building codes and construction.

• We will restore and strengthen national appliance standards to save costs for consumers and reduce pollution.
• Our administration will marshal and implement a comprehensive national program for deep energy retrofits of existing buildings to drive down energy costs, including a pipeline for workers to secure good jobs in retrofit projects.
• Working with Congress, we will establish a suite of new R&D funding and incentives to (i) electrify heating and cooling systems for new buildings, and (ii) render industrial processes carbon neutral.

Federal Investments. Over the medium term, we will shift pools of money under the control of the federal government, like the Thrift Savings Plan, away from fossil fuel assets and update federal policies and guidance to recognize the climate risks associated with such investments.

• We will strengthen and enforce disclosure requirements obligating private companies and investors to report on their climate impact.

Confront Climate Change Head-On

• Restore the Primacy of Science. Without the rigor and objectivity of sound science, we can’t make good decisions to protect the environment. I will appoint a White House Science Advisor with the respect of peers, put climate science at the core of decision making by all relevant federal agencies, and empower the EPA to set science-based standards to protect our health and our environment. We will inject new talent and purpose into the EPA, and restore its capacity to enforce environmental rules and regulations.
• Environmental Clean-up. Under my Presidency, the EPA will redouble its efforts to clean up and renew brownfields, contaminated Superfund sites, methane leaks, and aging infrastructure like lead pipes. We will appoint committed, experienced regulators and increase funding to the EPA, with a focus on renewing communities that have historically been underserved.
• Environmental Justice. Climate change is global, but some communities are disproportionately affected by the crisis. Our climate response strategy will be tailored to specifically address communities where climate change is exacerbating existing inequality, and to make sure that all Americans have the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our transition away from carbon-based energy.
• A key part of that approach is ensuring that Americans employed in fossil fuel industries today are supported and assisted during the transition away from such fuels through direct support, the workforce training initiatives we have proposed, and, most critically, by taking deliberate steps to ensure that the gains from the innovation economy flow to communities across the country, not just to a few.
• Align Climate Programs. We will align the federal government to drive this change forward. I will appoint a Senior Climate Advisor to the President to convene all relevant Cabinet members and agencies to drive this mobilization. Just as the National Security Advisor ensures all aspects of the federal government are working in unison to protect our national security, the time has come to elevate climate to a central position of authority.

Global Leadership in a Climate Crisis

Addressing the threat to humankind calls on the United States to lead the rest of the world towards a carbon-free future. As addressed in our Leadership Agenda, my administration will lead a global effort to limit emissions, adapt to a changing planet, and reduce our global reliance on fossil fuels. We will immediately rejoin the Paris Agreement and bring climate change and clean energy into all aspects of American foreign and trade policy, as well as domestic and industrial policy.

As President, I will:

• Set the Standard on Climate. We will commit to American leadership to advance a climate change agenda, working with and alongside both developed and developing countries to set stretch goals to reduce emissions and move promptly to a clean green future. We will immediately reestablish America’s commitments under the Paris Agreement, reinstating policies intended to achieve the United States’ 2025 Nationally Determined Commitment and fulfilling the United States’ 2020 reporting requirement. We will reestablish the United States’ contributions to the Green Climate Fund and actively collaborate on best practices.
• Pursue Global Climate Accountability. In keeping with the global emergency we are facing, I will propose international oversight to hold ourselves and other nations to account for meeting our objectives, as well as to serve as a clearinghouse for the best ideas, practices, and strategies to share among nations. I will propose before the United Nations a new permanent multilateral body to create, monitor, and support national commitments to combat climate change.
• The purpose of such an organization would be to help us raise our own game on climate, challenge the rest of the world to meet theirs, and resolve disputes between developed and emerging countries over emissions targets. An international climate body would coordinate a response to the refugee crisis that our collective failure to act on climate change will aggravate.
• Lead by Example. To effectively persuade, we need to model that behavior by jump-starting the clean-energy economy here at home. We will lead by example by promoting the green economy in the United States by decreasing our energy consumption while increasing our capacity for clean energy with the goal of an entirely carbon-neutral economy by 2040. We will re-invest in the American economy to improve and create new technologies and millions of good-paying jobs, with an emphasis on job creation in communities and regions most affected by the transition. As we develop groundbreaking technology, we will be able to market this abroad, once again taking advantage of our Nation’s place as the world’s leader in innovation.

Prepare for a Changing Climate

From flooding on the Mississippi, to hurricanes in Texas, to hot spells in cities, to wildfires in the West, we live in a different world — one which requires new ways of preparing for and responding to threats. Alongside our historic infrastructure commitment, we will invest in and support programs that:

• Make our communities more resilient to the effects of climate change, starting with those that are most vulnerable;
• Innovate insurance offerings for consumers most affected by climate change;
• Modernize flood, water, and land-use regulations to protect community; and
• Support a climate-resilient economic sector that parallels the clean energy innovation economy.