CTC by SECTOR

The Clean Tax Cuts concept (CTC) has been developed collaboratively in 2016 – 2018 by working groups of scholars, think tanks and universities (informally the CTC Working Group) using charrette process, a collaborative expert-level architectural design method.

Work during 2018 involves refining the most popular idea revealed during our research: The Clean Asset Bond.

Please see our initial Proposals for the Clean Asset Bond and barrier free clean capital markets.

Please read the CTC White Paper outlining our research efforts through 2017. Beginning in 2018, most efforts have focused on refining the principle and building broad support.

Expert groups have designed CTC mechanisms for seven economic sectors (auto, power, clean tech, real estate, farming & forestry, green bonds, oil & gas, plastics), tailoring distinct mechanisms for the separate needs of debt vs. equity capital markets. Some of these mechanisms appear potentially very powerful. The Columbia University proposal for tax-exempt clean-asset-based green bonds, for example, offers a possible multi-trillion dollar solution, a simple, uniform, technologically-neutral means of accelerating a wide variety of clean infrastructure deployment globally. Jigar Shah (SunEdison founder and co-founder of Carbon War Room and Generate Capital) recently wrote that “CTCs could quickly expand to double or triple [the] pace” of clean infrastructure deployment.

Clean Tax Cuts - All Sectors

September 5, 2017 - Clean Tax Cuts White Paper
Grace Richardson Fund, New York City

GRF President Rod Richardson has published this document summarizing the first year of CTC activities and findings. This GRF white paper gives an overview of the CTC concept and principles, the findings from the first year of CTC development, and the promising new CTC mechanisms that have emerged to date in 2017 from all sectors studied. And finally, it gives some hints as to what lies ahead.

Sector reports and summaries of specific CTC mechanisms can be found below:

March 6, 2017 - Green Bonds Charrette
Columbia University, New York City

Professor Travis Bradford has taken an important leadership role in organizing this charrette and kicking off this unique public policy process.
(Agenda | Pre-Discussion Paper | Summary | Full Report | Email Team )

March 23, 2017 - Commercial Real Estate Charrette
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Washington, DC

Steve Nadel, Executive Director of ACEEE, leads this charrette which focuses on buildings and explores how greater energy efficiency can reward investors, owners and perhaps even tenants with lower tax rates.
(Agenda | Pre-Discussion Paper | Summary | Full Report | Email Team)

March 27, 2017 - Power Sector Charrette
American Renewable Energy Institute, Aspen, CO

This small group of non-partisan experts in government, finance, technology, efficiency and the environment  will explore the potential power of Clean Tax Cuts on the Wind and Solar industries, and identify opportunities and barriers to its implementation.
(Agenda | Pre-Discussion Paper | Summary | Email Team)

April 3, 2017 - Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use Charrette
The Nature Conservancy, Washington, DC

Carbon sequestration, forestry and open space conservation and management will be on the agenda, shepherded by The Nature Conservancy.
(Agenda | Pre-Discussion Paper | Summary | Full Report)

April 4, 2017 - Clean Tech Charrette
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

Bill Brandt at ASU shines a light on new technologies, and how they might benefit from the application of Clean Tax Cuts.
(Email Team | Summary )

April 9-10, 2017 - Oil and Gas Charrette
One Step In Foundation, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

The One Step In Foundation (1Si) in conjunction with The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) have organized a Clean Tax Cut (CTC). The meeting will be hosted by the Getches – Wilkinson Center at the University of Colorado School of Law.
(Email Team | Summary )

April 14, 2017 - Transportation Panel on Capitol Hill
R Street Institute, Washington, DC

In this gathering on Capitol Hill, Ian Adams of R Street and his panel of experts discuss the problems using current fuel economy standards, and on how clean tax cuts might drive innovation toward cleaner transportation alternatives.  Transportation, which already has many globally accepted standards with which to measure carbon reductions, may see the first real world application of Clean Tax Cuts.
(Summary | Article: Revise CAFE (2 pgs.) | Article: CAFE / CTC (8 pgs.)

April 21-23, 2017 - Earth Day Texas 2017
Fair Park, Dallas, Texas

The CTCWG presented findings from each of the sector-specific charrettes to a wide audience. The sector reports are consolidated in the Media section, and research continues on all fronts. To learn more about Earth Day Texas (now known as EarthX), please contact the organization directly:
EarthX