The United States is falling significantly short of its climate ambitions, with current projections indicating a mere 22% reduction in emissions by 2030, far below the 50% reduction needed to align with the Paris Agreement goals. This warning comes from BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) latest New Energy Outlook: US report, which highlights urgent challenges and opportunities for the country’s energy transition.
BNEF’s report highlights the enormous investment required to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, pegged at $41 trillion - 20% more than previously estimated. Electrifying the economy will require a dramatic increase in power generation capacity. Renewable energy, particularly solar and wind, must scale rapidly, with solar capacity needing to quadruple and wind capacity nearly tripling by 2030. The report did not guarantee that climate change would disappear if net-zero emissions are achieved.
“The US is running out of time and emissions budget to stay on a pathway that results in less than 2 degrees Celsius of global warming,” warns Thomas Rowlands-Rees, head of BNEF’s North America research. “The heavy lifting needs to be done this decade, shifting to a clean power system based on wind, solar, and storage.”
Significant hurdles include infrastructure upgrades, grid expansion, and streamlined permitting, which are essential to accommodate increased demand, especially with AI-driven data centers expected to double electricity consumption by 2030.