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The Cost of Decarbonizing

Driving Question: How can we manage the costs of decarbonization?

How much will consumers be willing to pay for low- or no-carbon alternatives? Examining the “green premium”—the extra cost for low-carbon products—can be a valuable way to evaluate climate solutions and guide efforts to maximize impact.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Define the term green premium.
  2. Explain the relationship between green premiums and behavior, policy, and innovation.

Vocab Terms:

  • carbon capture and sequestration (CCS)
  • carbon tax
  • green premium
  • net zero
  • subsidy
STEP 2

Why Does Money Matter?

Teaching Tips

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 2 of Lesson 3.5 Teaching Guide Locked .

Why talk about money when we talk about climate change? Explore why costs matter when it comes to addressing climate change.

STEP 3

What Does the Green Premium Tell Us?

Teaching Tips

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 4 of Lesson 3.5 Teaching Guide Locked .

Explore the Climate Project Infographics Guide External link for some tips for using infographics in the classroom.

How can the green premium help decide what solutions to focus on? Explore how the concept can inform actions of government, businesses, and individuals.

STEP 4

The Cost of Decarbonizing

Teaching Tips

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 5 of Lesson 3.5 Teaching Guide Locked .

This blog postEngaging students with video External link – provides four steps in engaging students with videos.

The green premium is a tool for understanding the cost of implementing climate solutions. Watch the video to explore how the green premium can help us determine where to focus our efforts, and then investigate the problem further in the activity.

Green Premiums: The Extra Cost to Decarbonize

What’s a green premium? Why does it matter? Explore the concept that has a big impact when it comes to addressing climate change.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
STEP 5

Policy Analysis

Teaching Tips

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 8 of Lesson 3.5 Teaching Guide Locked .

What are the policies in place to make climate solutions more accessible? Explore one government policy to see what’s working, and what’s not.

STEP 6

Closer: The Cost of Decarbonizing

Teaching Tips

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 10 of Lesson 3.5 Teaching Guide Locked .

Our Openers and Closers Guide External link will provide more information about these short, but important, activities at the beginning and end of each lesson.

How can we drive demand for low- or zero-carbon technologies? It’s up to you to see if you can make a strong case.