This story was originally published by The Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
A Biden administration plan to force the rapid uptake of renewable energy would swiftly cut planet-heating emissions and save hundreds of thousands of lives from deadly air pollution, a new report has found amid growing pressure on the White House to deliver a major blow against the climate crisis.
Of various climate policy options available to the new administration, a clean energy standard would provide the largest net benefits to the United States, according to the report, in terms of costs as well as lives saved.
A clean energy standard would require utilities to ratchet up the amount of clean energy, such as solar and wind, they use, through a system of incentives and penalties. The Biden administration hoped to include the measure in its major infrastructure bill but it was dropped after compromise negotiations with Republicans.
But the new report, conducted by a consortium of researchers from Harvard University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Syracuse University, suggests it w... Read more
