We need effective climate solutions for the future
Harmful emissions are causing our planet to undergo an unprecedented and rapid change. At Clean Air Task Force (CATF), we operate as the catalyst for change in technologies and policies needed to get to a zero-emissions, high-energy planet at an affordable cost.
Our North Star? A world where the energy needs of all people today and in the future are met without contributing to climate change.
Chosen by Founders Pledge as the top pick organization for climate impact
CATF’s role in the environmental NGO ecosystem has often been to focus on sources of emissions that are neglected by other environmental NGOs, to conceive and design pragmatic campaigns to target those emissions, and to crowd-in support from philanthropists and other larger environmental NGOs. CATF also produces high-quality research, which is well-regarded among the philanthropists, scientists, policy experts, and government bureaucrats that we have spoken to.
– Founders Pledge
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Our Approach
We believe in optionality, innovation and systems-level solutions
Systems-level change is needed because the current systems are the driving force behind the climate crisis. At CATF, we tackle a number of systemic factors by applying a pragmatic approach, centered on change in four key areas:
- Change the narrative to communicate the size of the problem and totality of solution requirements.
- Change technology to make available the diverse set of carbon-free options like advanced renewables, zero-carbon fuels, carbon capture, advanced nuclear, and superhot rock energy at an affordable cost.
- Change business models to include modular, manufacturable energy solutions that can be deployed anywhere quickly.
- Change policy to develop, demonstrate, and scale-up the technologies and systems needed to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century.
The Challenge
It’s time to ask hard questions
The planet is in serious danger and global climate policy is missing the mark. By midcentury, the world will need to completely remake its energy system and then grow it by half again to raise global living standards.
Most climate action has focused on three solution pathways: pricing carbon as a commodity, improving energy efficiency, and accelerating wind and solar electricity deployment. While these actions are useful, they address perhaps one-third of the climate change crisis. At CATF we’re asking, “What about the other two-thirds”?
In order to address the whole problem, we need carbon-free electricity available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year in every part of the world, and zero-carbon fuels to power a global energy system two times its current size. We know that in order to decarbonize the global energy system, we need to combine the best solutions, science and analysis with technology innovation and a policy landscape that accelerates progress at pace and scale – we call this optionality.
Saving the planet is an act of altruism
For the last few years, we’ve been identified by many reputable organizations as one of the most effective, impactful, cost-effective, and trusted climate organizations. This recognition comes with a greater sense of responsibility and it fuels our desire to keep searching for answers where others may not dare to look.
“In addition to its seriously impressive record of success and the high quality of its research, CATF does well on the neglectedness criterion: It often concentrates on targeting emissions sources that are neglected by other environmental organizations, and on scaling up deployment of technologies that are crucial for decarbonization, yet passed over by NGOs and governments. It was one of the first major environmental groups to publicly campaign against overlooked super pollutants like methane.”
– Vox
We’re examining all options with an open mind
For more than 25 years, our team of technical and policy experts has been working to advance the policies and technologies necessary to decarbonize the global energy system and address the most difficult to abate sectors.
Our work has been recognized by:
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Clean Air Task Force
114 State Street, 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02109
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