We’ll Still (Always) Have Paris
US cities, states, and businesses are still committed and accountable to meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement
By Jules Kortenhorst, chief executive officer at Rocky Mountain Institute
On November 11 in Bonn, Germany, at the United Nations climate conference, I was thrilled to be part of the announcement of an extraordinary message from America to the world: the United States is going to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement. While the current presidential administration plans to leave the agreement, US states, cities, and businesses have emerged, through efforts such as We Are Still In, as the new face of American climate leadership on the global stage, and America’s Pledge provides the proof that that leadership is still potent.
America’s Pledge is an effort to quantify and communicate the full range of climate action and commitments from US real-economy actors, which is enormous. If the US nonfederal actors that have committed to the Paris Agreement were a country, they would be the world’s third-largest economy. The initiative was supported by Rocky Mountain Institute and launched in July 2017 by Michael Bloomberg and California Governor Jerry Brown, who were present in Bonn together with other governors and mayors, senators, business leaders, and thousands of others drawn to the unofficial US pavilion. It was an exciting and uplifting event, as you will read in the pages of this magazine (see “Fighting Climate Change on a Global Stage”).
And the energy has spread far beyond Bonn. This April, I attended energy week in Berlin, Germany, alongside more than 2,000 policymakers, business executives, innovators, and energy activists from every corner of the globe discussing and accelerating the energy transition. The panel discussion I was part of noted how capital is rapidly shifting toward the energy solutions of the future. At Start Up Energy Transition, we were part of the jury evaluating the innovations of cleantech entrepreneurs from around the world. And at Event Horizon 2018, in the setting of an empty coal-fired power plant, blockchain gurus mingled with energy practitioners to figure out how this technology can disrupt the existing energy system. Energy Web Foundation, which was created by RMI and Grid Singularity, co- convened Event Horizon and was featured extensively. The world is moving forward toward a completely new energy system, despite hesitance in Washington to be part of that transition.
In this issue of Solutions Journal, we share some of that progress, including the many ways that RMI is playing a direct role in the markets with uniquely disruptive market affiliates and subsidiaries. We know that markets sometimes need a nudge to switch from long-established ways of doing business, even when alternatives are available that are cleaner and more profitable. Even sliced bread didn’t catch on at first! That’s why we’re working to spread technologies and ideas ranging from real-time emissions analysis to energy applications on the blockchain by participating in markets ourselves.
We also share the ways that RMI staff are taking the energy revolution to the streets where they live, and show how you can, too. RMI staff use everything from tandem bicycles and green roofs to solar ovens in their own lives, as you can read about in these pages. We hear from Amory about why electric savings from increased efficiency have lagged fuel savings, and the profit opportunity that untapped efficiency represents. We also hear from one of our newest RMI employees about her work with data for sustainability in her native India and beyond.
And we get the news from Blair Madden Bui about how she put a major commercial real estate developer on the path to a 100 percent net-zero energy portfolio.
I also have sad news to report. Just before the holidays at the end of 2017, Maurice Meehan, the director of our Global Shipping Operations, passed away unexpectedly and far too soon. For many at RMI, Maurice was more than a colleague; he was a mentor and a friend. We join his family in mourning his passing and celebrating his life, which was full of joy, hard and successful work, and compassion. It is in remembrance of him and his spirit of dedication to addressing the biggest issues of our times that we carry on with our own work, and hope to achieve the sustainable future that he strove for. I hope you’ll join us.
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