Using government funding and policies to improve green technologies—when deployed alongside infrastructure investment, pollution standards, and equitable safeguards for vulnerable populations—will speed up our transition to the clean and vibrant economy that’s necessary to address the climate crisis. Historically, though, U.S. federal energy innovation has focused on fossil fuels, energy independence, and geopolitical goals. Even as federal investment in clean technologies has ramped up, many lawmakers have presented it as an alternative to government regulation of climate pollution. These approaches fall short of what is necessary to transform our economy in the timeframe science demands. The conversation is missing a progressive vision for climate innovation, one that expands the federal innovation ecosystem, focuses on technologies that accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral economy, and centers equity. 

While innovation alone is insufficient to tackle the climate crisis, innovation coupled with other ambitious climate policies can accelerate the transition to clean energy, reduce inequality, and generate new economic opportunity. It is also exceedingly popular. This is all the more reason for progressive politicians to proactively set the climate innovation agenda and tailor it to tackle our interrelated environmental, social, and economic crises. 

Here, we offer a framework, policy recommendations, and polling to underpin a truly progressive climate innovation agenda.

COMPONENTS:

Core Report: A Progressive Climate Innovation Agenda
In our core report, we frame the progressive climate innovation agenda as one that expands federal innovation activities, targets emissions, and promotes equitable access to climate solutions while combating legacy pollution (our “three Es”). We show how the current federal innovation ecosystem is poorly tailored to achieve those objectives.

Policy Brief: A Progressive Climate Innovation Agenda: Federal Policy Recommendations
In this policy brief, we flesh out the details of a federal innovation agenda that meets these goals.  A progressive plan will at least double research and development funding over the next five years and triple or quadruple it by 2030; dramatically expand demonstration, deployment, and financing programs; refocus efforts on the most polluting and hard-to-decarbonize areas of the economy; build new institutions, goals, and capacity to support equitable outcomes; and support innovative projects designed, led, and implemented by impacted communities.

Polling Memo: Voters Support a Progressive Climate Innovation Agenda
In this polling memo, we show that the progressive climate innovation framework and policies we recommend are broadly popular across the political spectrum and extremely popular among Democrats.