• The proposed “target-plan-finance” federal policy framework for U.S. climate action calls for a three-step approach for a durable governing system:
  
  1. Set clear net-zero targets in law for the states (ideally acting regionally) and for the major emitting sectors of the economy.
  
  2. Require these groups to identify needs and gaps and submit plans every five years that show how they will meet these targets.
  
  3. Provide increased federal R&D funding and multiple forms of federal financing for elements of these plans that the private market won’t support due to the level of risk or other factors.

• This framework has a number of advantages:
  • Provides a national north star through measurable, science-based targets to guide and manage the collective effort.
  • Creates a mechanism to guarantee the result and safeguard the climate while achieving sustained economic and job growth.
  • Devises a practical and effective hierarchy of management and oversight, with planning done by the states and collaborative industry-led consortia based on requirements set by the federal government. This model for a federal planning mandate leverages state, local, and industry planning efforts and also engages civil society stakeholders.
  • Proposes an integrated combination of carrots and sticks, which is likely the fairest and most effective approach.
    
    
• To rapidly change and fully decarbonize the long-lived, high-capital energy systems that support the U.S. economy within 30 years, an integrated framework of long-term requirements to plan, monitor, and report on progress toward federal climate targets is necessary. Meaningful forward planning is critical for expanding the scale and speed of energy infrastructure, syncing the clean energy supply with customer demand, evaluating which policy and technology paths to take, and navigating the unprecedented, policy-led transition that is now needed.

This is a draft proposal made publicly available to further discussion. All author opinions are personal.