U.S. electric power sector emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxide (CO2) will remain mostly flat through 2050, assuming no changes to current laws and regulations, according to the EIA’s recently released Annual Energy Outlook 2019. Regulation has greatly contributed to the decline of pollutants like SO2 and NOx from the electric…
The Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction unveiled legislation on Feb. 4 that would establish the Oregon Climate Action Program to place a cap on greenhouse gas emissions for entities whose annual emissions exceed 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The bill would set an annually declining emissions budget, starting in 2021 to put the…...
Montana House Lawmaker Mary Dunwell, a Democrat, introduced legislation on Jan. 14 that would impose a carbon tax of $10 per metric ton on large emissions sources from 2020, increasing annually by $1, plus the rate of inflation. The bill would set an emissions reduction goal of 25 percent by 2035, and 50 percent by…...
Democratic Governor Tom Wolf issued an executive order on Jan. 8 requiring the state to work toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2025, and 80 percent by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. By setting goals in line with the 2015 Paris climate agreement, Pennsylvania joins a growing number of states reacting to President…...
New York State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, a Democrat, introduced legislation on Jan. 2 that would impose a carbon tax of no less than $35 per ton on the distribution or sale of carbon-based fuels, increasing annually by $15 to a maximum of $185. Under the bill, 60 percent of the proceeds from the tax would be…...
Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy on Dec. 18 released a report detailing strategies from the Governor’s Council on Climate Change to help the state achieve its long-term vision for decarbonizing the economy. The recommendations center on three fundamental objectives of the vision – zero-carbon electricity, clean transportation, and building efficiency. Legislation enacted last year set a…
The Washington Department of Ecology adopted rules requiring new vehicles licensed in the state to continue meeting California’s standards, steadily reducing the release of greenhouse gases through 2025, according to a Jan. 2 news release. Democratic Governor Jay Inslee underscored the need for “collective actions of states” even as the Trump administration tries to relax…
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection proposed to set an initial carbon dioxide cap at 18 million tons in 2020 for the electricity generation sector when the state officially becomes a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation’s first mandatory cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Dec. 17…...
The United Nations twenty-fourth annual climate conference concluded on Dec. 15, following a week of intense discussions culminating in the adoption of rules for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which aims to prevent the worst impacts of climate change by keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. The deal establishes uniform standards that will be used by…
The New York Independent System Operator Inc. on Dec. 7 released a plan outlining a design to internalize the social cost of carbon dioxide emissions in the wholesale electricity markets. The plan would use a carbon price in dollars per ton of emissions, proposing a net cost of $40.74 per ton in 2020. The proposal would require suppliers to include the charges in their energy offers, allowing the price to…
Under current and planned policies, global energy demand is expected to grow by over 25 percent to 2040, requiring an annual investment of more than $2 trillion in new energy supply, according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook published on Nov. 13. The agency said that over 70 percent of global energy investments…
