US states will drive green energy take-up

Subject

US renewable energy.

Significance

Billionaire businessman and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced earlier this month that he will not seek the US presidency in 2020, instead creating the initiative Beyond Carbon to focus on climate change. The announcement comes amid rising interest in the ‘Green New Deal’ (GND), a resolution in Congress that espouses widespread decarbonisation of the US economy, including providing climate-friendly jobs and compensating those transitioning out of fossil fuel-related sectors.

Impacts

• The cost of wind energy will drop if machine learning can consistently predict weather patterns more accurately to within hours.
• Nuclear energy’s place in carbon-free energy will be contentious; most likely, new plants will not be built.
• The 2020 presidential race will see the GND embraced by most Democrats, but that does not guarantee the GND’s enactment.
• If voters come to support green energy, they will likely pressure firms via purchasing decisions to be greener.