Clean Energy Bonds

This memo proposes that the federal government issue Clean Energy Bonds, as the 21st century equivalent to War Bonds, to help address one of the greatest challenges of our era by financing for the deployment of clean energy projects throughout the United States.

Building a clean energy economy is critical for America’s future economic and global success. The road to achieving this goal has always been difficult, but the financial crisis has made it even more challenging to develop clean energy projects at exactly the time when rapid expansion is required. The scale of the energy challenges we face cannot be met through changes in Americans’ personal behavior alone. The United States must create an outlet for the public to financially and politically invest in transforming how our nation uses energy.

Perhaps the best comparison to today’s challenge is our nation’s mobilization of the home front during World War II. But, as in that era, the task at hand requires a national strategy for the public to invest in the country’s goals. To help galvanize and maintain support for World War II, the United States issued War Bonds to directly invest the public in the national mission of winning the war. We need a similar mobilization today.

[To read this memo, open the attached PDF]