Executive Summary
Momentum is growing for action on climate change. But actual shifts in U.S. investment and policy have been erratic, failing to address the needs of communities that will be hardest hit by climate change. American climate policy lacks a broad, durable commitment to maintain and accelerate progress. Despite significant advances, including recent federal legislation, there remains much more to be done—in Washington and across the nation.
The nonpartisan Commission on Accelerating Climate Action of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has articulated how we can forge a whole-of-society commitment to addressing climate change. Its thirty-one members come from across the country, with expertise in industry, government, academia, and the arts to craft an approach for the whole of America.
The Commission articulates a “fair bargain” on climate change. Anchored in the principles of justice, pragmatism, and accountability, our approach is not to highlight any one policy but to outline the totality of the required effort.
As efforts become more visible and create new industries and opportunities, the political support needed to accelerate that action will grow. Challenges that are complex and daunting today will become more manageable with experience. Ultimately, these recommendations create a strategy for building and maintaining a broad, durable coalition for accelerated action that reduces emissions, promotes adaptation, and advances the interests of frontline communities.
Forging Climate Solutions is organized into five strategies for accelerating climate action.
STRATEGY 1: Prioritize Equity, Fairness, and Justice in Climate Action to ensure that strategies lessen, not exacerbate, harm by focusing on those who will suffer from the consequences of climate change, energy transition, and adaptation efforts.
STRATEGY 2: Engage and Educate Diverse Communities to shift climate change communication from an elite, science-focused endeavor to one led by credible voices from diverse communities.
STRATEGY 3: Mobilize Investment to unleash the immense capital of the public and private sectors needed to cut emissions and make society more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
STRATEGY 4: Deploy Diverse Options for Controlling Emissions to send clear market signals to investors to accelerate mitigation across all sectors.
STRATEGY 5: Ensure Adaptation at All Levels of Society to protect vulnerable communities, respond to disasters, and enhance national security, which will require vast resources, coordination, and planning at the federal, state, and local levels.