Energy Shift

Accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy

Climate response is falling short for mitigation, adaptation, and preparedness due to policy and market gaps, ingrained positions, and lack of community capacity and readiness.

Our Energy Shift program targets these barriers particularly in areas that have lacked attention from funders and advocates. Policy and market reforms will result from filling information gaps, collaborative policy design, pilot-testing market solutions, forming and fostering new and unlikely coalitions, and working with and in affected communities to address impacts.

One such unlikely coalition resulted in the Community Health and Shale Development Guidebook. Shaped by the insights of a cross-sector working group consisting of members from the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the Pew Trusts Health Impact Assessment Project, and Shell Oil Company, the guidebook provides information on health issues and responses throughout the lifecycle of shale development.

Leverage is gained by working with constituencies that have not been active participants in the climate reform movement, such as heavy industry, as they seek to align with the targets in the Paris Climate Agreement and meet commitments to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Energy Shift targets decarbonization of heavy industry, such as steelmaking and automotive industries; designing new climate policy pathways; incentivizing climate-smart supply chains and planning; strengthening climate emergency response; catalyzing climate-friendly social impact enterprises; and supporting dialogue and joint action across unlikely climate interests.

We need sustainable minerals for a low-carbon economy. Sustainable Lithium Production for a Responsible Global Energy Transition (LiFT) links lithium producers and end-users and catalyzes and accelerates action toward a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and innovative battery value chain.

The Climate Smart Mining Emissions Widget is being developed to bring alignment and consistency across the mining-related standards and initiatives on climate reporting and, in doing so, move the needle forward for mining companies, investors, and companies using minerals in their products with regard to achieving greenhouse gas reduction goals.