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One thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is my belief that we know what to do to begin tackling the climate crisis, we just need to get to it!  

Last month, Brad Plumer and Blacki Migliozzi wrote in the New York Times about seven things other countries or states are doing to cut greenhouse gas emissions that we can do here in the U.S. I was curious to see how these seven policies aligned with the consensus priorties I’m aware of, and I’m happy to say it’s a pretty good fit.

Here they are:

ONE: Enact an economy-wide carbon tax similar to British Columbia’s, starting low and rising over time. The consensus among climate scientists, economists, and world leaders is that a well designed carbon fee is the single most effective first step we can take to begin the transition to off fossil fuels to a clean energy economy.

TWO: Require utilities to produce all their electricity from zero-carbon sources by mid-century. New York, California, and Hawaii have passed this requirement already.

THREE: Pass agressive electric vehicle incentives like Norway has done. Plug-in vehicles now make up half of all new sales in Norway.

FOUR: Set efficency targets for cement, steel, and petrochemical industries, like China has done.

FIVE: Set energy efficiency standards for new homes and commercial buildings, like California has done. National adoption of such standards could dramatically reduce emissions from heating and cooling buildings.

SIX: Regulate to curb methane emissions from oil and gas operations, similar to Canada’s methane rules which aim to reduce emissions from oil and gas operations 40-45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025.

SEVEN: Pass legislation to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons, as the European Union has done. These powerful greenhouse gases are used in refrigerators and foams. The 2016 Kigali Amendment requires phasing out these fluorinated gases, but we have not yet complied.

I’ll be looking for ways to help you take action in support of these policies. If you haven’t done so, I invite you to join Power Up to get my action invitations. Because strange as it sounds, researching and sharing climate solutions is what gets me out of bed in the morning!