On June 20, 2020, Democrats in the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released a comprehensive proposal called the Climate Crisis Action Plan which establishes a goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States by 2050; directs the president to set ambitious interim targets to meet or exceed that goal; and calls for achieving net-negative GHG emissions after 2050.[1] The report recommends investments in infrastructure; investments in clean energy and decarbonization technologies; and decarbonization of the transportation and electricity sectors. The report does not directly recommend an end to natural gas fracking or coal-fired power. It also leaves the door open for carbon capture technology and nuclear power to play a role in a net zero-carbon grid.

The majority staff for the Select Committee previewed its draft policy recommendations with Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology LLC (Energy Innovation), a nonpartisan think tank. Energy Innovation modelled the emissions reductions and co-benefits from implementing a subset of the Select Committee’s recommendations. According to Energy Innovation, the Select Committee majority staff’s policy recommendations will set the country on a path to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

[1] https://climatecrisis.house.gov/sites/climatecrisis.house.gov/files/Climate%20Crisis%20Action%20Plan.pdf