One final thread on legislation I introduced this term that made it into the Omnibus bill: The Clean Industrial Technology Act, to create a $500M R&D program focused on hard-to-decarbonize industries: https://twitter.com/SeanCasten/status/1343950529777561600

1/ As I've mentioned many times, there are only 3 things the US has to do to get climate change under control: (a) double our energy efficiency, on a Btu/$ of GDP basis (b) Get to zero emissions by 1985 and (c) figure out how to decarbonize hard to decarb industries.

2/ Getting (a) done would take us to the efficiency of Switzerland. It is economically beneficial, environmentally beneficial and technologically possible.

3/ Getting (b) done is really hard, but we have to acknowledge that any future that doesn't involve massive flooding, wildfires and the loss of the eastern seaboard requires getting back below 350 ppm.

4/ But today's focus is on (c). Committing to being at zero CO2 by [pick a year] is naive unless you can tell me how we are going to make steel, fertilizer, silicon or cement without fossil fuel input.

5/ These are industries that use fossil fuel primarily not for energy, but as a chemical reducing agent. It's a really hard thermodynamic problem. But if you can't solve those problems, then you have no way to put a silicon-based PV panel on a concrete pad without increasing CO2

6/ There has been interesting research in this area (see, for example, this biological process to replace the Haber-Bosch ammonia synthesis process) but not nearly enough. https://www.nrel.gov/news/features/2017/nrel-scientists-upend-century-old-ammonia-production-method.html

7/ So we introduced the Clean Industrial Technology Act to stand up and centralize this research at the DOE. My friend @SenWhitehouse introduced companion legislation in the Senate, and both versions quickly got bipartisan support. https://casten.house.gov/media/press-releases/new-bipartisan-bicameral-proposal-targets-industrial-emissions-reduction

8/ And I'm pleased to report that this was also included in our omnibus year-end package. (Section 6003, page 3560)

9/ Over the next 5 years, this legislation will provide $500M to fund demonstration projects that emerge from this research to help accelerate the commercialization of these critical technologies.

10/ To my friends in the RD&D space and in the industrial sector, I hope you'll bring your expertise and knowledge to get engaged in this program. I can't wait to see what you develop! /fin

A final note: HUGE thanks to the staff on @HouseScience who worked so hard to craft this legislation and steer through committee.