Electricity is essential to our lives – powering our homes, businesses, and buildings, and helping us manufacture goods and advance technology. But the power sector is also currently responsible for 28% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. While we’ve made major strides to curb emissions in recent years, we can do even more. By accelerating the retirement of coal plants and scaling sources of clean energy, cities, states, and businesses can continue to curb emissions from U.S. electricity generation.

The development of renewable portfolio standards has been a key driver of demand for solar and wind, ensuring steady market growth for cleaner energy sources and cutting our reliance on carbon emitting fossil fuels. When cities, state policymakers, corporate renewable energy buyers, and utility companies work together to develop integrated strategies across stakeholder groups, they can drive even faster progress in renewable energy advancement.

Coal is a major source of carbon pollution. Even though it’s not as economical as it once was in the U.S., the markets aren’t accelerating the shutdown of coal plants at a fast enough pace to ensure the country is on track to meet our Paris goals. Working together, states, cities, businesses, and other stakeholders can speed up coal plant retirements between 2018 and 2025 and help reach the level needed to keep the United States on a pathway to 2ºC.