Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 04/2012

Transforming U.S. Energy Innovation

Laura Diaz Anadon, Matthew Bunn, Gabriel Chan, Melissa Chan, Charles Jones, Ruud Kempener, Lee, Nathaniel Logar, Venkatesh Narayanamurti

November 2011

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University

Abstract

The United States needs a revolution in energy technology innovation to meet the profound economic, environmental, and national security challenges that energy poses in the 21st century. If the U.S. government does not act now to improve the conditions for innovation in energy, even in times of budget stringency, it risks losing leadership in one of the key global industries of the future, and the world risks being unable to safely mitigate climate change and to reduce vulnerability to disruptions and conflicts—both domestic and international. Waiting is not an option.