Environmental Sustainability, Climate Change, and Advanced Energy Technology

Addressing climate change is one of the most critical global issues of our time, and policymakers, businesses, and consumers require immediate action to build a cleaner and more sustainable future for our planet.  Solving the climate crisis will require enacting the right policies by lawmakers combined with innovation from the private sector.  TechNet supports sound environmental policies that address this crisis based on global geopolitical engagement, cooperation, and accountability.  TechNet further supports advanced energy policies that foster and promote a business climate that enables innovation and decarbonization while mitigating the impact of new regulations on the economic prosperity of our nation and the world.  TechNet member companies are committed to addressing climate change and leading by example through innovation and sustainability efforts while driving the public policy discussion toward a cleaner, more reliable, and lower-carbon economy of the future.

TechNet supports technology-neutral, market-based policies that address the climate crisis and that: accelerate the deployment of low and zero-carbon energy technologies; promote innovation; bring competition to the clean and renewable energy market; foster clean transportation; and base policy development off of science-based guidelines and benchmarks.

TechNet calls for the following actions:

• The federal government should set science-based decarbonization targets for the United States to limit warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius by the year 2050 and provide options for climate action to achieve these targets. These targets should be aspirational.
• A federal clean electricity policy that will drive investments in new clean and renewable energy generation, and investments to improve grid reliability, modernization, and resilience. Such investments will support providing businesses with the energy capacity to make needed investments at the scale and speed necessary.
• State and federal governments should prioritize removal of regulatory and process barriers to clean energy deployment, including by implementing generation and transmission permitting reform.
• The federal government should align its energy, tax, and procurement policies to encourage actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote energy resilience to help address both the causes and consequences of climate change. The federal government should prioritize preservation of technology-neutral clean energy tax credits to ensure appropriate long-term incentive structures enable accelerated deployment of new clean energy resources.
• The federal government should encourage low-carbon domestic manufacturing of steel and aluminum by aligning trade and climate policy while minimizing disruptions to global supply chains or conflicts with multilateral commitments.
• The federal government should support the export of American clean technologies through a coordinated approach across government, including increased financing, loans to allies, and tax incentives.
• The federal government should prioritize modernizing federally-owned data center infrastructure and build new data centers with next-generation hardware and software to consolidate activities in older, inefficient data centers that would lower costs, cut energy consumption, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• We support research that would help industry increase data center energy efficiency and sustainability operations.
• Policies should be developed so that historically disadvantaged communities are not left behind in this transition. Policymakers should focus on ensuring that all communities are able to also benefit from the transition to a clean energy and transportation economy.
• Investment in non-combustion energy infrastructure and non-wired energy alternatives directed towards low-income communities and communities of color.
• Specific policies should promote the adoption of hydrogen and other sources of clean energy for hard-to-decarbonize sectors like heavy-duty transport, steelmaking, and other chemical and industrial processes.
• On the roads, there should be renewed investments made in climate infrastructure and clean transportation, including the national buildout of public charging infrastructure, and incentive programs to encourage their development. In the skies, policymakers should prioritize the establishment of regulatory frameworks that will allow for the adoption and scaling of clean transportation alternatives, such as adoption of a Beyond Visual Line of Sight rule to enable advanced drone operations that represent clean, all-electric alternatives to traditional modes of infrastructure inspection, last-mile delivery, and to support public safety.
• The federal government should prioritize and incentivize the electrification of vehicle fleets and conversion to low-emission zero-waste buildings across government-owned properties. We also support policies that enable the widespread adoption of zero emissions light- and heavy-duty vehicles.
• The federal government should continue to prioritize its energy purchases for its buildings and operations by working with public utilities and the private sector to source clean, reliable energy.
• State and federal resources should be invested in climate science, technology research, and development efforts to build a pathway forward through innovation.
• The federal government should provide tax incentives to promote the adoption of low and no-emissions technologies.
• Support policies that enable deployment of advanced technologies on the grid at scale, such as new nuclear, hydrogen, and long duration storage.
• Policies that promote market competition by enabling the faster interconnection of distributed energy resources.
• Adoption by the federal government of advanced energy technologies and clean transportation that can improve the mission of federal agencies.
• Seek global harmonization for carbon accounting rules.
• Fair, public, and equal access to energy data to enable industry and empower consumers to deploy and utilize clean energy solutions effectively and have insight into real-time grid conditions.
• Encourage public-private partnerships to provide skills and job training that support the green and digital transition.
• Ensure ICT/IT (including networks) is properly defined as a sustainable activity to support sustainable finance investments in this critical sector.
• Encourage government policies that incentivize water stewardship and encourage the use of AI and IoT for monitoring water systems and enhancing infrastructure resilience.
• Encourage policies and financial incentives for business models that extend the lifespan of products and reduce environmental impacts.
• Encourage policymakers to pass legislation that would bring the United States into compliance with the Basel Convention governing transboundary shipments of e-waste.
• Develop and align internationally-recognize standards for sustainable public procurement.