Decarbonization Dialogue

(Keystone Policy Center) The Decarbonization Dialogue, led by Keystone Policy Center and Great Plains Institute, convened experts from different sectors to develop recommendations for near-term federal policies to drive economy-wide and equitable decarbonization. The recommendations were developed by stakeholders with diverse interests and reflect months of dialogue between and among sector-specific working groups. They were publicly launched in February 2021.

The Decarbonization Dialogue was designed to provide a bipartisan, collaborative set of recommendations that could quickly inform debate around climate and decarbonization action regardless of which party was in the majority and who was in the White House. Dialogue participants were organized into three working groups focused on power, transportation, and agriculture. While they are organized by sector, the recommendations reflect many months of cross-sector dialogue. They cover the following areas:

Cross-Cutting Recommendations
- While there are many areas of overlapping interest among the power, transportation, and agriculture recommendations, some cut across all sectors and would provide the foundation for the others.
Power Recommendations
- These recommendations facilitate access to reliable, low cost, clean electricity across the entire country.
Transportation Recommendations
- These recommendations aim to decrease emissions from the transportation sector today while planning for and investing in the transportation technology, systems, and infrastructure needed for the future.
Agriculture Recommendations
- These recommendations call attention to opportunities for agricultural producers to advance decarbonization, especially where such opportunities present voluntary solutions for farm owners/operators and are shared with the power and/or transportation sectors.

The climate crisis presents significant risk for each of the sectors addressed in the Decarbonization Dialogue, along with the economy as a whole. We need only look to the February 2021 winter storm in Texas, 2020 California wildfires, or the 2019 Mississippi floods to demonstrate the acuteness of climate risks for both American families and our power, transportation, and agriculture systems. Ongoing decarbonization policy must consider adaptation, risk, and resiliency alongside mitigation. Whether focused on core principles and general considerations or specific policy ideas, the recommendations of the Dialogue offer substantive guidance, supported by bipartisan and diverse interests, that decision-makers can act on today. The supporting report provides background on the Dialogue’s recommendations, including information on scope, process, participants, and the nature of the discussions that generated the final recommendations. It also identifies issues that merit further dialogue and collaboration.

Carbon Bank Task Force

On April 27, 2021, a subgroup of the Decarbonization Dialogue called the Carbon Bank Task Force, submitted recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create a carbon bank that would provide incentive for farmers, ranchers, and foresters to reduce atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping gases. The Taskforce submitted the recommendations in response to a USDA request seeking public input on the agency’s climate strategy following an executive order from President Joe Biden on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. Read the cover letter and recommendations here.

Download Recommendations

Download Supporting Report

Dialogue Participants

Steering Committee

Dan Delurey, Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate, Vermont Law School
Paul Doucette, Energy Transition Executive, Baker Hughes
Shelley Fidler, Principal, Governmental Affairs, Energy and Environmental Policy, Van Ness Feldman
Paula Gold-Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer, CPS Energy
Rob Gramlich, President, Grid Strategies LLC and Executive Director, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid
Tom Hassenboehler, Partner, The Coefficient Group
Karl Hausker, Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute
Mitch Jackson, Vice President, Environmental Affairs & Chief Sustainability Officer, FedEx
Bruce Knight, Principal and Founder, Strategic Conservation Solutions
Anjali Marok, Global Sustainability Strategy and Analysis Leader, and Sara Hopper, Manager, Government Affairs, Corteva Agriscience

Clay Nesler, Vice President, Global Sustainability and Industry Initiatives for the Building Technologies and Solutions, Johnson Controls
Willie Phillips, Chair, Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia
Lynn Scarlett, Chief External Affairs Officer, The Nature Conservancy
Phil Sharp, Former Member of Congress
Sue Tierney, Senior Advisor, Analysis Group
Laura Vaught, Federal Affairs Policy Director, Dominion Energy
Sarah Venuto, Vice President, Public Policy, Duke Energy
Clint Vince, Chair, Global Energy Practice, Dentons US LLP

Power Working Group

Dan Delurey, Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate, Vermont Law School
Paula Gold-Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer, CPS Energy
Rob Gramlich, President, Grid Strategies LLC and Executive Director, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid
Tom Hassenboehler, Partner, The Coefficient Group
Willie Phillips, Chair, Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia
Rich Powell, Executive Director, ClearPath
William Sauer, Federal Regulatory Affairs Director and Sarah Venuto, Vice President, Public Policy, Duke Energy
Phil Sharp, Former Member of Congress
Laura Vaught, Federal Affairs Policy Director, Dominion Energy

Transportation Working Group

Sarah Adair, Clean Technology Policy Director, Duke Energy
Shailen Bhatt, President and Chief Executive Officer and Laura Chace, Chief Operating Officer, Intelligent Transportation Society of America
Sue Gander, Managing Director, EV Policy, Electrification Coalition
Mitch Jackson, Vice President, Environmental Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer, FedEx
Chelsea Jenkins, Vice President, Government and Industry Relations, John Thomson, Director, Product Development and Emissions Compliance, and Natalia Swalnick, Director of Government Affairs, Roush CleanTech
Andrew Kambour, Senior Policy Advisor for Energy, The Nature Conservancy
Ryan Lamberg, Principal, Tied Branch Consultants
Tom Van Heeke, Policy Lead, Mobility and Climate Change, General Motors

Agriculture Working Group

Dan Blaustein-Rejto, Director of Food and Agriculture, The Breakthrough Institute
Jenny Conner Nelms, Senior Policy Advisor for Agriculture, The Nature Conservancy
Aldyen Donnelly, Director of Carbon Economics, Nori
Allen Dusault, Director of Research and Development, Franklin Energy
Bruce Knight, Principal and Founder, Strategic Conservation Solutions, Strategic Conservation Solutions
Ryan Lamberg, Principal, Tied Branch Consultants
Anjali Marok, Global Sustainability Strategy and Analysis Leader, Corteva Agriscience
Marty Matlock, Executive Director, University of Arkansas, Resiliency Center
Robert Parkhurst, Consultant, Sierra View Consulting
Allison Thomson, Vice President, Science and Research, Field to Market
Aliza Wasserman-Drewes, Director, Rural Investment to Protect our Environment