...AND CHEAPER...:

To reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero, the U.S. will need to invest in and build new energy infrastructure at an unprecedented scale over the next three decades. This is one of the conclusions of a new Princeton University analysis, which examines granular scenarios for how the country could reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. While the required scale of infrastructure build-out and technology deployment is significant, the study's findings show it is  technically feasible and economically affordable. 

That last point-that a net-zero economy will be affordable-is critical. The energy  transition cost is frequently cited as a reason to be wary of carbon prices, regulations, or climate action generally. But the idea that a modern and productive economy can run without emitting greenhouse gases is evolving from an obscure notion to something that rigorous analysis can show will be affordable. This study shows, along with less detailed precursors, that a full transition to net-zero would not dramatically increase the cost of energy for the economy. 

The researchers modeled five different pathways to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by midcentury, each with varying levels of renewable energy deployment, building and vehicle electrification, biomass, nuclear energy, and carbon capture and storage technologies. For each scenario, they evaluated the infrastructure and fuel demands that would meet consumer demand for electricity and transportation, and maintain industrial production but eliminate emissions from the economy. Even as the researchers surveyed a wide variety of scenarios, they found that the costs of the transition to net-zero were small. 

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