The dialogue surrounding so-called ‘just transition’ initiatives in the US has primarily focused on the workforce: How can communities reliant on well-paying fossil fuel sector jobs find new opportunities for those facing unemployment? Are there state or federal retraining programs available to facilitate their transition into new roles? Moreover, what industries can offer new, equally good jobs?
What hasn’t been studied nearly as much is the fiscal impact of losing industrial activity related to fossil fuel extraction, processing and delivery. How much public revenue is really at stake in the energy transition? Which states face the highest jeopardy? And how can communities dependent on fossil fuel revenues navigate their transitions while continuing to support essential public infrastructure, such as schools and libraries, once these funds dry up?
In today’s conversation, we speak with an expert who has studied the fiscal impact of the energy transition extensively: Daniel Raimi, a fellow at Resources for the Future (or RFF), an independent, nonprofit research institution based in Washington, DC. Daniel shares with us the results of his extensive, on-the-ground research into the fiscal implications of the energy transition for communities that derive a large share of their public revenue from fossil fuel industries. We also talk through a number of ways fossil-fueled revenues could be replaced by clean energy industries and other policies. We consider the importance of green industrial policy in the equation, and we wrap it up with a speculative discussion about the destiny of fossil fuel communities in the net-zero world of 2050 that we’re striving to reach.
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[Episode #145] – A Slow Take on the Texas Blackout
[Episode #144] – Investing in Energy Transition
[Episode #143] – Hydrogen Economy 2.0 Part 2
[Episode #142] – Hydrogen Economy 2.0 Part 1
[Episode #141] – Making Climate Policy Work
[Episode #140] – Methane Leakage
[Episode #139] – Vehicle-Grid Integration
[Episode #138] – Transition in China
[Episode #137] – Energy and Climate in the Biden Administration
[Episode #136] – The Economic Superorganism
[Episode #135] – Internalizing Climate Risk
[Episode #134] – Storage Grows Up
[Episode #133] – Stranded Assets
[Episode #132] – The Future of Solar
[Episode #131] – Decarbonizing the US by 2050
[Episode #130] – 5-Year Anniversary Show
[Episode #129] – Deep Decarbonization Policy for the US
[Episode #128] – Energy Basics Parts 7–9 – The Electricity Business and Power Markets
[Episode #127] – Hard-to-Decarbonize Sectors
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