About Technology Solutions

Addressing climate change will require action across all sectors of the economy, from electricity and transportation to agriculture. Cost-effective opportunities exist today to begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and a number of emerging technologies might deliver more substantial reductions in the future. The successful development of these technologies will require substantial new investments in research, incentives for producers and consumers, and emission reduction requirements that drive innovation. Short-term action to reduce emissions is crucial even as policymakers lay the groundwork for a longer-term technology revolution.

The Technological Solutions program at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change tracks and analyzes low-carbon technology solutions in all major sectors, including emerging technologies with high promise, and develops mechanisms for promoting innovative technology-based approaches to addressing climate change. Through its research, publications, web-based information, and workshops, the program covers low-carbon technologies in every economic sector, including the transportation, electricity, and buildings sectors. The Solutions program also analyses policy-relevant aspects of these low-carbon technologies to allow the Pew Center to more effectively participate in policy dialogues and business outreach. The program engages in a number of collaborative efforts, working closely with groups such as state public utility commissions, the National Academy of Sciences, and the United State Climate Action Partnership.  Current work includes a major initiative to identify policy options for reducing coal-related greenhouse gas emissions, including the technology pathways for future coal use that will assist in reducing emissions, and the policy options available at all levels to drive the deployment of these advanced generation technologies. The program also works on the interactions between land use change, forestry, and climate change, and is analyzing a full range of potential carbon sequestration options.