What’s driving all these big solutions? It’s simple. They’re bipartisan. They’re effective. It’s the power of markets, and the innovation these markets create.

Energy deregulation passed by former Govs. George W. Bush and Rick Perry have helped reduce Texas power emissions, but plenty of work remains. The next step for the market in Texas is to unleash DERs to replace its legacy coal. Removing barriers to individuals and companies investing in DERs and opening opportunities to better participate in the market will spawn a revolution in battery storage, self-generation, demand response, and even electric vehicles while increasing resiliency. Policymakers should ensure these technologies achieve their promise by removing current barriers that discourage investments in DERs such as restrictive municipal ordinances, onerous processes for interconnection, and discriminatory retail rates.  

There is even more work to be done in the industrial and oil and gas sectors in Texas. Texas is already the No. 1 emitter in both sectors. Projections show increased emissions as Permian production continues to boom, leading to new and expanded refineries, petrochemical facilities, and LNG exports on the Gulf Coast. Without clear and decisive action, the increased carbon emissions will more than offset reductions from Texas power emissions while also increasing air pollution. To put the scale of potential reductions in perspective, 2030 estimates from the Rhodium U.S. Climate Service show that more reductions can be made in the Texas industrial sector alone than would be achieved nationally by implementing the original Clean Power Plan or national Fuel Efficiency Standards.

New CCUS technologies like NetPower, a potential game-changer, is piloting its technology in Texas. Taking innovative technologies like this (and others) from pilot scale to ubiquitous deployment will likely require the same foresight on CCUS that policymakers had for the power sector; creating a market for carbon dioxide that enables CCUS and direct air capture. 

Methane, an incredibly potent greenhouse gas, associated with oil and gas production, is being flared and vented at record highs in Texas. Policymakers can incentivize methane reductions and require all operators to use innovative leak detection technologies being piloted in Texas by leading oil and gas companies. Companies should have more restrictions on flaring so that instead of wasting gas revenue that could be going to support Texas schools, they sell it.

Implementing these solutions will ensure Texas maintains its status as the global energy hub while creating jobs reducing emissions in ways that its current political leadership can embrace. Given the scale of Texas emissions, failure to implement these solutions likely means that eventually Washington will impose its solutions instead. The choice is clear. However, what is not clear is if current policymakers can keep up with the innovation former leaders helped create in Texas.

Drew Nelson is the clean energy program officer at the Texas-based Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation. Nelson formerly served as a director for Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate and Energy Program and as a climate negotiator for the U.S. Department of State.