Welcome to Zeroing In by Speed & Scale, where we cut through the noise to deliver a data-driven update on progress toward net zero.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR CLIMATE POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES AND ABROAD? Sweeping changes in political leadership are nothing new. While the outcome of the recent U.S. elections will make our work to combat climate change more challenging, we must strengthen our resolve and forge ahead.

Rather than react with resignation or despair, we need to double down in our drive to zero out emissions. The road ahead demands an even more urgent commitment to climate progress. Top of mind for Speed & Scale:

1. The election results were decisive, and the economy topped the list of voter concerns.  

Polls show most Americans view climate change as a threat, but they put pocketbook concerns first. A test for the clean energy transition is to succeed by tying it to economic benefits. – Christian Science Monitor

Clean tech is creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs across the country. Over $200 billion of IRA investment has already been channeled into states, close to 80 percent of it to Republican-majority districts. We must continue to find new and better ways to engage voters by highlighting the economic gains made possible by clean energy.

2. Market forces are on our side.

As we like to say, “It’s now cheaper to save the planet than to ruin it.” Americans are seeing substantial savings from the rapidly falling costs of solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources. Texas, a solidly red state, leads the country in renewables deployment. South Dakota generates over half of its electricity from wind. The clean energy transition is well underway. We must keep the momentum going.

3. Next-gen climate technologies have bipartisan support in the United States.

Last June, the ADVANCE Act, which calls for accelerated development of next-generation nuclear technology, passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 88 to 2. (A companion bill easily passed the House of Representatives four months earlier.) There is also robust bipartisan support for geothermal and hydropower. The climate movement should lean into areas with bipartisan consensus while fighting to protect and grow what we have in place.

4. While we take stock of what needs to happen in the U.S., globally we must sustain robust dialogue and focus on market-driven innovation to achieve global net-zero goals.

The latest Climate Action Tracker report emphasizes that “global warming projections for 2100 are flatlining, with no improvement since 2021,” setting the world on a 2.7°C path. While capping warming at 1.5°C may seem unlikely, clean energy investment now outpaces fossil fuels, driven by renewable breakthroughs, EV growth, and clean manufacturing. Scaling these innovations to displace fossil fuels is crucial to bending the curve and could lower warming to 2°C or less. With emissions still rising, the stakes remain high: every tenth of a degree matters.

At Speed & Scale, our mission remains clear: Move leaders to act on climate. Over the next four years, we must recommit to our domestic and global priorities. While the headwinds in Washington for Objective 7 of the Speed & Scale plan (Win Policy and Politics) will no doubt be stronger, much vital work remains to be done at the state and local levels. In addition, this is a time for bold action on our other accelerants, including Objective 8 (Turn Movements Into Action), Objective 9 (Innovate!), and Objective 10 (Invest!).

A few stories fueling our outlook for why we’re optimistic about future progress:

🚗 1.0 – Electrify Transportation

• Arkansas’ Lithium Lifeline: A limestone formation in Arkansas may contain up to 19 million tons of lithium reserves, potentially enough to meet 2030 global demand for EV batteries nine times over, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Beginning in 2027, ExxonMobil aims to leverage direct lithium extraction technology to be more efficient and less resource-intensive (The Verge).

💡 2.0 – Decarbonize The Grid

• Green Screens Roll: Netflix and Disney are funding the Clean Mobile Power Initiative to reduce reliance on diesel generators–and cut up to 700,000 tons of annual emissions–in film and TV production. For alternative energy sources, the initiative is testing battery storage, hydrogen generators, and hybrid systems. The goal is to scale cleaner energy solutions across productions by 2030 and to leverage incentives and education to gain industry-wide adoption (Trellis).

🐄 3.0 – Fix Food

• Seeding A Green Revolution: Pivot Bio’s genetically modified bacteria, which help corn plants produce nutrients, could reduce reliance on traditional chemical fertilizers that account for one billion metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions annually. Currently used for 5 percent of U.S. corn crops, Pivot’s technology has already cut 706,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions (New York Times).

🌳 4.0 – Protect Nature

• Fast-Tracking Geothermal Growth: The Department of the Interior has proposed a new categorical exclusion to develop renewable geothermal energy on leased federal land. This change would allow some exploratory drilling projects to bypass environmental assessments, streamlining the development process (Federal Register).

🧱 5.0 – Clean Up Industry

• Building A Greener Future: A British startup, Material Evolution, has claimed it can cut 85 percent of CO2 emissions with low-carbon cement made from recycled slag. The world’s second-most-used material after water, cement accounts for 8 percent of total global emissions. The next step for Material Evolution is to overcome obstacles with scaling and industry acceptance (Washington Post).

🧹 6.0 – Remove Carbon

• A Breath Of Fresh Air: UC Berkeley scientists have developed a highly porous material that efficiently captures CO2 from the air and can be reused up to a hundred times without losing effectiveness. Their breakthrough has potential applications in large-scale carbon capture and might even be used to harvest water from desert air (SF Gate).

🏛️ 7.0 – Win Politics And Policy

• Oil Execs Push Back: Donald Trump’s plan to double down on U.S. oil production faces resistance from oil executives who are more focused on financial discipline than on ramping up output. While modest growth in production is expected, industry leaders are unlikely to return to aggressive drilling, making Trump’s promised energy price cuts more dependent on global demand trends than on a surge in domestic supply (Bloomberg).

🏃 8.0 – Turn Movements Into Action

• Golden Years, Green Fears: With retirees more vulnerable to climate impacts, older adults are increasingly joining climate protests  against fossil fuels. The group Third Act, founded by activist Bill McKibben, mobilizes retirees to leverage their financial stability and societal standing to push for policy change. In one recent example, Swiss retirees successfully pursued a case in the European Court of Human Rights (Bloomberg).

⚡ 9.0 – Innovate!

• Green Skies Ahead: California has signed an agreement with major U.S. airlines to boost the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The airlines are committing to 200 million gallons of SAF by 2035, which could meet 40 percent of in-state travel demand. This public and private sector partnership, backed by policy incentives, aims to help the airline industry achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, though experts caution about potential land-use impacts from plant-based SAF sources (The Hill).

💰 10.0 – Invest!

• Fueling A Nuclear Future: The Biden administration plans to triple U.S. nuclear capacity by 2050, targeting an additional 200 gigawatts to meet rising demand for carbon-free energy, with a near-term goal of adding 35 gigawatts over the next decade. Supported by bipartisan legislation, this strategy aligns with increased global interest in nuclear energy to reach carbon reduction goals. Given rising energy demands from AI data processing and other sectors, the initiative could receive continued backing under President-elect Trump (Bloomberg).  

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