Could swift targeted actions, led by private citizens, corporations, philanthropies and government, slow, stop or reverse climate change damage?

The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has identified seven challenges for energy transformation and proposed that stakeholders take a systemic view of climate-change challenges to identify rapidly deployable interventions. Authors of RMI’s recently released report, Seven Challenges for Energy Transformation, observed that trying harder to take ineffective actions will not solve problems. Instead, collaborators would benefit from a fresh perspective and a process that links all parts of a solution system.

Following are RMI’s seven challenges.

Making emissions visible: This challenge focuses on integrating scattered data-collection and analysis systems and making the resulting mega-system publicly available. Potential uses include generating emissions maps with improved granularity and fewer time lags.

Tripling energy productivity gains: The report states that energy productivity — more efficient use of energy in buildings, transportation and industry — needs to triple in the next 10 years. Potential ways to achieve this include expanding existing efficiency programs that are working and speeding up retiring inefficient assets.

Electrifying with renewables: Use electricity produced by renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, to replace fossil-fuel-generated electricity.

Reinventing cities: Develop global networks of cities to enable joint solution development for common problems. RMI also posits that leapfrog opportunities — nonlinear progress — exist to spur much more rapid progress.

Boosting clean technology: Government and industry can collaborate to foster more rapid development and adoption of clean technologies like hydrogen production, long-term energy storage and cleaner industrial processes.

Redesigning industry: Reducing emissions from heavy industry, long-haul transportation and aviation requires immediate short-term actions to reduce carbon emissions and long-term transformation to achieve global decarbonization.

Securing a swift and fair transition: This challenge encompasses the financial, institutional and human aspects of energy transition. Leaders must know where dislocations, such as job loss or relocation, are expected and to provide acceptable alternatives.

RMI plans to convene discussions among energy and climate leaders in New Delhi, New York and Beijing. These meetings, labeled EMERGE, are intended to explore these challenges and start to identify several points where specific interventions could result in significant improvements in climate change emissions.