ClimateWorks

The ClimateWorks global family of organizations works in the nations and economic sectors with the highest greenhouse gas emissions. Our work focuses on enacting policies that reduce these emissions through three general policy areas:

• Energy efficiency standards
• Low-carbon energy supply
• Forest conservation and agriculture

ClimateWorks and its partners are pursuing aggressive and highly targeted campaigns, focusing resources on policies that can be enacted quickly and lead to the largest possible emissions reductions.

Our shared goal is to reduce annual global emissions of greenhouse gases by 30 billion tons (gigatons) by 2030 — a target that represents almost half of all expected emissions in that year.

Examples of effective low-carbon policies include:
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• Utility-scale energy efficiency
  In California, thanks to a series of innovative policies, the state’s utilities now invest $1 billion each year improving energy efficiency — halting growth in per capita electricity use and cutting the power sector’s emissions in half. The Regulatory Assistance Project and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Energy Analysis Division, both ClimateWorks partners, are collaborating with utility regulators around the world to replicate these policies.
• Renewable portfolio standards
  In the U.S., thanks largely to state renewable portfolio standards (RPS), wind and solar power account for an increasing share of utilities’ power mix. State-level RPS policies have already spurred $65 billion in private investment in clean energy technologies, while a national RPS of 25 percent would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 724 million tons in 2030. The Energy Foundation, a ClimateWorks Regional Climate Foundation and a lead partner in the network, was instrumental in crafting and supporting the advocacy campaigns that lead to the adoption of state-based RPS legislation and created momentum for a national RPS.
• Vehicle fuel standards
  India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency recently approved fuel economy and labeling standards that, upon formal adoption, will reduce CO₂ emissions by more than 50 million tons in 2030 while cutting oil use by up to 20 percent—the equivalent of removing 2.5 million four-wheeled vehicles from the roads. A ClimateWorks Best Practice Network, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), specializes in conducting detailed analyses of fuel economy among vehicle fleets, and provides technical data to regulators as they draft and implement vehicle fuel economy and low-carbon fuel standards. The ICCT supports regulators in the world’s top automobile markets as they develop standards similar to India’s.
• Appliance efficiency standards
  In China, refrigerators, air conditioners, and other appliances must meet rigorous national energy efficiency standards that have already eliminated the need for 36 large, coal-fired power plants. The Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP) , a ClimateWorks Best Practice Network, is helping spread similar appliance standards around the world.
• Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS)
  In Europe, government agencies, scientists, and engineers are collaborating to develop commercial-scale demonstration projects to learn how to capture and sequester carbon dioxide from power plants and industrial facilities. This effort could potentially slash 2030 emissions by 300 million tons. The European Climate Foundation, a ClimateWorks Regional Climate Foundation, was instrumental in securing EU-level funding for CCS research and development.
• Reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD)
  Deforestation, primarily in tropical forests, accounts for about 17 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions-more than all transportation emissions combined. Reducing these emissions is a critical priority. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, in close collaboration with ClimateWorks, has developed a tropical forest carbon strategy with the goal of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation by 2 billion tons per year by 2030. The strategy seeks to create an effective international mechanism for reducing deforestation, while also helping to preserve tropical forests in the near-term.

The science and economics are clear: an accelerated, global push over the next 10 years to enact these types of policies can still prevent dangerous climate change — but we have no time to lose.