Innovation, Investment, and Inclusion: Accelerating the Energy Transition and Creating Good Jobs

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. This achievement was the result of a decade of work by hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers. The moonshot was an all-of-government approach to innovation that has paid off for decades. New ideas developed in the wake of that moonwalk—from telecommunications to the Internet to silicon chips—have led to commercial advances and vital industries.

Combating climate change is the 21st-century moonshot. Extreme weather and climate events—like storms, floods, and wildfires—have already caused about $120 billion a year in damages to the United States over the past five years. These costs are on course to accelerate as higher temperatures, rising sea levels, and extreme weather increasingly damage infrastructure and coastal property, alter crop yields, and reduce labor productivity. If left unaddressed, these damages will drag down economic productivity and growth in the United States.