One State Team made up of many teams

A football team has players. It also has specialized teams for specific plays such as offense, defense and kicking field goals. Each specialized team practices and develops its own type of expertise. The efforts of all the teams add up to the success of the “Team” as a whole.  Likewise, in the Race to be the First Net Zero Carbon State, the final score is measured at the state level, but the action is taken by many different individuals (“Players”), working with different groups. 

Specialized Teams

By definition, a “team” is a group of two or more people who work together.  A specialized team could be your household, a group of friends, a club, a professional group, a company, a committee in a city, a student organization. A group of people can call themselves a team within the State Team, and they can do a bit of everything, or they can focus on a specific “Field”, or specific “Plays”.  Indeed, to be effective, Specialized Teams focus on

Specialized Team Categories

Energy Supply

Proponents of specific energy sources.  Team Solar, Team Wind, Team Nuclear, Team Hydro, Team Fossil, Team Geothermal, etc.

Grid-dle

Teams that work to improve the energy grid.

Demand Side

Each area of demand that needs to be streamlined can get the attention of specialized team, for example, the LEED Teams - seeking to improve building design to reduce energy use; the “Automotive Electrification Teams” - people seeking to produce electric cars and create the necessary infrastructure to accelerate the transition.

Quality of Life

People seeking to change the way we measure quality of life.

Technology

Innovations and improvements in technology have an impact on the viability of various energy solutions.

Financial

Behind every power plant is a considerable financial investment and multiple institutions. Banks, Investors, Pension Plans. Investment, Divestment, “Push Your Parents”, “Ceres Clean Trillion”.

Regulatory

Policy makers, regulators, legislation and enforcement. Government initiatives. Note that government derives its powers from the people. You can move the government lever with votes, petitions, letters and…cash.

Carbon Pricing Players

At the intersection of finance and policy. Ideas include “Cap and Trade” and Fee and Dividend. These must be agreed to by policy makers, multiple stakeholders, institutions.

Corporate Players

Companies are formed to deliver a return on investment, via delivering some product and service. This priority creates an incentive to externalize costs to maximize profit. Some feel the profit motive is inviolable. Others disagree. See the rise of The B Team, Benefit Corporations, Corporate Social Responsibility and impact investment.

Carbon Sequestration

Those involved in extracting carbon from the atmosphere.  These are often technologists.

Hail Mary Pass

Those seeking novel solutions.

Notes & Related:

The Player

The core indivisible unit of any team is an individual, the PLAYER.  You are playing against many forces, such as corporations and investors, but it turns out that these are often
you as well. As an employee or employer in a corporation, you have a vested interest in the success of the corporation. As a pension holder or investor, you have an interest. As a taxpayer, you have an interest in keeping taxes low.  Just as you have an interest at many levels, you have power at many levels. 

Nothing happens unless a player takes action.