This article is 11 years old. Images might not display.
The plan was published in The Guardian and was co-written by leading sustainability thinker Gild Friend.
It claims that closing all operating coal plants in the US would cost only $50 billion and would generate $100-150 billion in benefits every year for the next decade.
The plan suggests the phased buyout of coal companies and their assets, closing and cleaning up the mines, writing down assets and paying off existing financiers would please current investors.
Meanwhile, workers would be retrained with the goal of creating job opportunities in coal communities.
But Kramer and Friend wrote that the main benefit of the initiative would be a huge reduction in carbon emissions both in the US and worldwide.
They argue that putting a price on carbon provides one way to pay for the investment and will reap continuing rewards.
The pair will present the plan at the annual TED Conference in Vancouver, Canada, on Sunday, March 16.
