Rachel Polashenski

Environment First: Implementing Clean Energy Policies to See Real

Change

ENGL 138T: Rhetoric and Civic Life II

Professor Babcock

9 April 2024
Introduction

Climate issues continue to rise in severity, but clean energy could be the key to making a

difference. Our current energy sources (80% fossil fuels) aid in the rapid progression of climate

change. For example, Acciona states that a “global temperature rise is just one of the

environmental impacts of non-renewable energies on the planet”.1 While some policies exist

surrounding clean energy, the current policies are not effective in meeting the minimum goals to

mitigate serious climate effects. Citizens must demand policy changes from government officials

now, and do what they can to utilize the clean energy source available. Implementing clean

energy is a crucial step to tackling the climate crisis, but the current U.S. approach just isn’t

enough. In order to see real change in the energy industry, government officials must implement

quick and aggressive policies that put the environment first.

What’s the Issue?

Simply looking at the United States’ statement of intent, it is difficult to extract the issue

with clean energy. The U.S. Department of State claims to have a “commitment to achieve

net-zero emissions by 2050, and a net-zero power sector by 2035,” but the issue is not solved

that easily.2 Right now, the results of climate action in the U.S. are falling short of these

minimum goals. While clean energy installations and eclectic vehicle sales have increased in

recent years, they will need to continue this upward trend to stay on track. Unfortunately, it is

unlikely that America will be able to fulfill these high expectations. “U.S. investment in wind

and solar power plants hit record levels last year, but even that dramatic rate of expansion fell

1
Acciona, “The Environmental Impact of Non-Renewable Energies: Climate Change and More,”
Sustainability For All, 2019,
https://www.activesustainability.com/renewable-energy/environmental-impact-of-non-renewable-energies/
?_adin=02021864894.
2
U.S. Department of State, “Energy,” United States Department of State, accessed April 9, 2024,
https://www.state.gov/policy-issues/energy/.
 short of the level needed to meet the nation's climate

change goals”.4 The U.S. made a commitment in the

international Paris Agreement to cut emissions in half by

2030, but the most generous predictions put the U.S. at

48% by 2035. Npr explains, however, that the original

target set was the minimum requirement to decrease

warming enough to “avoid the most catastrophic impacts

of climate change”.5 The rising temperatures, worsening

weather phenomenons, and serious societal effects (see

table on the left) are clear evidence that something needs

to be done. When clean energy policies have been

implemented, the positive effects speak for themselves.

Without strengthening the climate approach and

enforcing strict policies for regulating non-renewable

energy sources like fossil fuels, the U.S. will not be able

to meet these minimum goals. Thankfully, hope is not

totally lost yet. The country has already come much

Fig. 1: Non-Renewable Overview3 closer to meeting these goals than previously thought

3
Lydia White, “Infographic: How Short-Term Energy Is Killing Our Planet,” Inhabit, April 26, 2016,
https://inhabitat.com/infographic-how-short-termism-is-killing-our-planet/.
4
Reuters, “Record US Renewable Energy Investment Not Enough to Meet Climate Goals -Report,”
Reuters, February 21, 2024,
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/record-us-renewable-energy-investment-not-enoug
h-meet-climate-goals-report-2024-02-21/.
5
Rachel Waldholz, “A Year in, Landmark U.S. Climate Policy Drives Energy Transition but Hurdles
Remain,” NPR, August 16, 2023,
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/16/1193726242/a-year-in-landmark-u-s-climate-policy-drives-energy-transitio
n-but-hurdles-remai.
possible. Just a few years ago, even getting as close as currently predicted was completely out of

the question. If the right regulations are put in place and firmly enforced, then who knows just

how far society will be able to come.

With the amount of obstacles in the way, some individuals who oppose stricter climate

regulations claim that the government should not even bother switching to cleaner energy

because it won’t make enough difference to justify the economic cause. While cleaner energy

can sometimes cost more, and as of right now, “Wind and solar generation require at least 10

times as much land per unit of power produced than coal- or natural gas-fired power plants,” the

benefits still outweigh the costs.6 The goal right now is not cooling the earth, but rather “keeping

Earth’s temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius”.7

Clean Energy; Clean Solutions

So now that the problem has been clearly identified, what are some ways that

policymakers can make improvements to the current American system? As of now, only

twenty-four states have “adopted specific greenhouse gas reduction targets to address climate

change,” but that number is nowhere near where it should be.8 Policies like these could benefit

from being introduced in every state, or even at a federal level. This would even the playing field

and require climate action to be widespread. The U.S. definitely has a lot to gain by looking at

the successful outcomes of other countries. Denmark, Sweden, and Chile are all great examples

of how to do climate policy right.9 By sticking to goals strictly, and actually enforcing policies to

carry them out, these countries have had a much higher success rate in making real change.

6
Samantha Gross, “Renewables, Land Use, and Local Opposition in the United States,” Brookings,
January 2020,
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/renewables-land-use-and-local-opposition-in-the-united-states/.
7
U.S. Department of State, “Energy”.
8
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, “State Climate Policy Maps,” Center for Climate and Energy
Solutions, November 22, 2023, https://www.c2es.org/content/state-climate-policy/.
9
Christiana Jansen, “3 Leading Countries in Climate Policy,” Earth.Org, March 1, 2023,
https://earth.org/countries-climate-policy/.
 Fig. 2: Denmark’s five key points10
In Denmark’s climate policy, they focus on five major areas of concern, but there is one

area in particular that stands out. They state their intention to “Collaborate with the private sector

on green solutions,” a key point that many other countries may be overlooking.11 While “The

American public overwhelmingly favors renewable power and the costs of wind and solar power

have declined rapidly in recent years”, they usually do not agree on the way that the government

is going about it.12 If private individuals are unwilling to work with the government, this can

make it difficult to actually implement any clean energy methods and policies that are passed.

One of the most important changes is therefore not necessarily in the policy, but how we

implement those policies and inspire individuals to get involved. Climate advertisements can

appeal to the pathos of citizens. These paired with well-planned business deals can make a real

10
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, “Global Climate Action Strategy,” UM, accessed April 12, 2024,
https://um.dk/en/foreign-policy/new-climate-action-strategy.
11
Jansen, “3 Leading Countries in Climate Policy”.
12
Gross, “Renewables, land use, and local opposition in the United States”.
change in the attitudes of individuals, and therefore the ease and speed of implementing climate

policies.

Sweden’s policy framework is a simple, yet extremely effective three-prong design. They

included the goals they aspired to meet, a climate act that “ensures that the Government will

write policy bases on the climate goals,” and an enforcement council to make sure the

government is properly doing its job. Through this all encompassing policy, Sweden was able to

quickly and effectively begin rolling out clean energy changes. A policy design like this one is

one of the most effective and sure ways to make change with ease. Sweden’s policy addressed all

of the major sticking points that policies in the U.S. have, so if the Americans were able to

collectively support and implement a framework like theirs, the rest would be light work in

comparison.13

Chile’s policy is much different from both Denmark and Sweden, but it has been proven

to be just as effective. Their climate approach was much more detail oriented and specific with

what needed to be accomplished. They included direct goals with clear orders on what needed to

be done. They also included an enforcement mechanism to ensure that their policies were

implemented well. The U.S. could also choose to take this route. It would allow for the clear idea

of what policies are needed, and what is needed to implement them. Once these policies are

established, they become much more efficient in fulfilling the task required, rather than leaving

the specifics up to interpretation and debate (ultimately slowing down the process).14

Any of these policy processes can be effective if properly executed. The key to these

countries’ success was not simply the content of the policies, but how they went about enforcing

them. They took aggressive approaches to implement what was necessary to achieve their goals.

13
Janson, “3 Leading Countries in Climate Policy”.
14
Janson, “3 Leading Countries in Climate Policy”.
They also delegated other individuals to keep these policies in check, so that they would not have

to worry about enforcement as well as policymaking. This streamlines the process and makes it

overall more effective and efficient in implementing clean energy.

The Future of Energy

The future of the climate all depends on the policies that are implemented and the priority

that is placed on clean energy. Oil spills, radioactive waste, acid rain, and human health effects

from pollution are all real world results from the use of non-renewable energy sources. If clean

energy is not immediately implemented, “the temperature rise that awaits us will bring

irreversible changes to our planet - more heat waves, longer warm seasons, shorter cold seasons,

a surge in the most extreme weather events”.15 However, if the necessary changes are made and

strong, aggressive policies are enforced, humanity could be looking at a cleaner, healthier future,

one which could stop or even reverse the effects of climate change.

15
Acciona, “The Environmental Impact of Non-Renewable Energies: Climate Change and More”.
 Fig. 3: The Ideal Future of a Clean Energy America16
While the brunt of the policy work falls on government officials, this does not mean that

citizens have no way of making change. Advocating for clean energy policies and voicing

opinions to the local government are some of the most important steps that a citizen can take, but

there are also more direct ways to get involved. Supporting clean energy projects is a great step

to assisting in implementing climate policy. Depending on the area of the country, “there may be

a wind or solar project nearby seeking approval for construction,” but if new construction isn’t

possible, there are other more feasible clean energy choices.17 Many companies offer clean

energy options to customers if contacted. Taking a few minutes to research these choices can be

16
Amanda Levin, “America’s Clean Energy Frontier: The Pathway to a Safer Climate Future,” NRDC,
September 19, 2017,
https://www.nrdc.org/resources/americas-clean-energy-frontier-pathway-safer-climate-future.
17
Isak Kvam, “4 Ways You Can Help Renewable Energy as a Citizen,” Clean Grid Alliance, October 24,
2017, https://cleangridalliance.org/blog/51/4-ways-you-can-help-renewable-energy-as-a-citizen.
all it takes to swap fossil fuels out for renewable options. Today, the cost of renewable is usually

around the same as non-renewable, so there is no need to worry about an increase in cost.18

Conclusion

Clean energy is the best way to a brighter future, so “Decreasing greenhouse gas

emissions in the electricity sector is crucial to avoiding the worst impacts of climate change”.19

While the U.S. is making an effort to implement some climate policies, they are not meeting the

minimum needs required to stop climate change. If clean energy isn’t implemented immediately,

there will be serious impacts on the everyday quality of life of humans. In order to make this

change, policymakers must create stricter energy regulations and implement enforcement

mechanisms to make sure targets are being met. Citizens can also use their voices to advocate for

policy change and cooperate with policy implementation on a smaller scale. Changing the way

that the U.S. approaches policy by modeling policies off of successful countries is the key to

successfully achieving climate goals.

18
Levin, “America’s Clean Energy Frontier: The Pathway to a Safer Climate Future”.
19
Gross, “Renewables, land use, and local opposition in the United States”.
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