Climate 411

New Mexico is off course for reaching its climate goals, but there’s enormous opportunity for action

New Mexico communities know the stakes for climate change are high — hotter and drier conditions threaten public health, livelihoods, and cultural and recreational resources, as they lead to increased drought, extended and more extreme wildfire seasons, and extreme heat. Those impacts are projected to get much worse in the coming decades, without serious and urgent action to slash climate pollution. It’s why polls underscore that the majority of New Mexico voters support strong action on climate change.

Governor Lujan Grisham has made bold, science-based climate commitments and both the legislature and regulators have adopted a number of important policies, but a new EDF analysis finds that with existing state and federal policies in place, New Mexico is projected to fall well short of achieving its 2025 and 2030 climate goals unless it takes aggressive climate policy action as soon as possible. The analysis also finds that the state’s current course will lead to far more cumulative emissions through the end of the decade — a critical metric that ultimately determines the severity of climate damages that our kids and grandkids may face.

While New Mexico is projected to face a glaring “emissions gap” — the distance between emission reductions the state has committed to and those it is projected to achieve — the opportunity to correct course with bold action has never been greater. With historic federal investments lowering the cost of clean energy, New Mexico can leverage this momentum to put in place strong limits on pollution that secure a safer climate future and grow a prosperous, equitable clean energy economy.

Here’s what you need to know about this analysis:

Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, News / Comments are closed

Washington state’s carbon market continues to raise major investments, as state leaders consider linking to California-Quebec market

Results were released today for Washington’s third quarterly cap-and-invest auction, which was held on August 30th. The results from this sold-out auction continue to demonstrate strong demand for allowances in this program, which has brought in significant revenue for the state of Washington to reinvest in its communities. These results follow on two previous sold-out quarterly auctions, as well as an auction from the Allowance Price Containment Reserve last month which raised an additional $62,491,660 while functioning as a market stabilizing feature. In total, these auctions have generated $919,564,777 for Washington communities.

Read More »

Also posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health / Read 1 Response

Washington state’s cap-and-invest program demonstrates cost containment features with special August auction

Yesterday, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) released the results from Washington’s first Allowance Price Containment Reserve (APCR) auction, held on August 9th. At this auction, all 1,054,000 of the available APCR allowances were sold at the two APCR tier prices of $51.90 and $66.68, with 527,000 allowances available at each price tier. This auction, along with two previous sold-out cap-and-invest auctions, shows continued strong demand for allowances under Washington’s cap-and-invest program and demonstrates the important role that an APCR can play in building predictability and stability into allowances prices.

Read More »

Also posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, News / Comments are closed

Pennsylvania needs to act now to build our future clean energy economy

The aerial scenic view of the elevated highway on the high bridge over the Lehigh River at the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Lehigh Valley, Poconos region, Pennsylvania, USA. Photo credit: Getty Images.

Pennsylvania has a long history of energy production, stretching as far back as the late 1700s. A central role in fossil fuels, however, is rooted in Pennsylvania’s past, not its future.

The state is poised to become a leader in our nation’s transition to a clean, resilient zero-pollution economy. Pennsylvania will take an important step by joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multistate program under which power companies are obliged to pay for the pollution they create and must reduce pollution over time.

RGGI will provide hundreds of millions of dollars annually from auctions which can be used to fund projects that reduce air pollution and energy costs, like energy efficiency, and for the deployment of renewable energy. RGGI, coupled with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), now celebrating its one-year anniversary, create a golden opportunity for Pennsylvania to become a trailblazer in the new energy economy and turn the page on its fossil fuel past. Indeed, states with strong climate policies will see greater uptake of these once-in-a-generation economic growth opportunities.

Pennsylvania is only beginning to see the funding flowing from these unprecedented federal investments. Here are three examples highlighting how the Biden administration’s clean energy plan is having an impact:

Read More »

Also posted in Energy, News / Tagged , , | Comments are closed

IRA across the USA: 5 communities winning clean energy manufacturing jobs

Two clean manufacturing workers training on site.

A year since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law, this historic climate legislation has already led to $278 billion in private investment that will support more than 170,000 clean energy jobs across the country.

And the work is just getting started.

Manufacturing incentives in the law, which encourage companies to build the clean energy supply chain here in the U.S., are creating manufacturing jobs and new economic opportunities for communities. According to the BlueGreen Alliance, the IRA will spur an estimated 900,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs over the next decade. The law also pairs incentives with labor standards that protect and prepare workers by requiring fair wages and apprenticeships.

Get to know some of the towns and communities around the country that are winning these major manufacturing investments and getting ready to build the clean energy technologies that will power our future.

Read More »

Also posted in Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Green Jobs, Innovation, Jobs, News / Comments are closed

4 ways California should strengthen its cap-and-trade program

This blog was co-authored by Mary Catherine Hanafee LaPlante, Intern, U.S. Climate Policy

As the hottest summer on record scorches the state, California leaders are working to tackle the impacts of climate change head-on by strengthening an essential tool in their climate policy toolbox: the state’s cap-and-trade program.

Last year, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) finalized its Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality which recognized the importance of accelerating action this decade to put the state on track to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045 as well as 85% reductions below the 1990 level. Specifically, the Scoping Plan highlights that California needs to exceed its near-term goal and achieve 48% reductions below 1990 by 2030.

To reach these critical goals, CARB is evaluating potential amendments to its cap-and-trade program. With two workshops on the books, CARB is already making significant strides towards fortifying the program.

Here are four key opportunities for the state to strengthen the cap-and-trade program:

Read More »

Also posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health / Comments are closed