Over the past two decades, increased understanding of the severity of impending climate change has coincided with rapid development of non-emitting energy technologies, including significant reductions in their costs. As a result, many nations, states, cities, and companies have recently indicated goals and are developing plans to transition to an energy system that emits zero net anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs), usually by midcentury. This timetable would allow the transition to take advantage of the natural turnover of long-lived capital stock (i.e., the 30-year lifetime of a gas power plant) and is consistent, if adopted globally, with limiting the global temperature increase to substantially less than 2 degrees Celsius.  

Because the energy system impacts so many aspects of society, a transition to net zero would have profound implications well beyond climate and energy, including economic competitiveness, increased employment, and improved human health. If done right, a transition to net zero might provide more and better-quality jobs, and economic benefits that exceed costs. A transition might also provide an opportunity to eliminate injustices that permeate our current energy system, such as the disproportionate exposure of historically marginalized groups to toxic fossil pollutants. Public support for a decades-long transition could be maintained only by fairly distributing benefits and costs. 

Against this backdrop, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine appointed an ad hoc consensus committee to assess the technological, policy, and social dimensions to accelerate the deep decarbonization of the U.S. economy and recommend research and policy actions in the near to midterm. This interim report focuses on the first 10 years of a 30-year effort—a comprehensive report covering the final two decades will follow in a year. In this interim report, the committee identifies technological actions required during the 2020s to put the United States on a trajectory to net zero by midcentury while still maintaining optionality. Most importantly, the interim report provides a manual for the federal policies needed to enable these technological actions and to build a non-emitting energy system that will strengthen the U.S. economy, promote equity and inclusion, and support communities, businesses, and workers.