Climate 411

Leadership states can drive U.S. climate progress forward, if governors meet their commitments

By Katie Schneer / Published: July 13, 2023

This blog was co-authored by Alex DeGolia, Director, U.S. Climate.

With historic federal climate investments in law, states are now in the driver’s seat to leverage this funding to drive U.S. climate progress forward — adopting bold policies of their own that limit pollution, boost jobs and bring down energy costs.

States that have made climate commitments in line with U.S. goals under the Paris Agreement are in the best position to make a significant impact in cutting U.S. emissions. A new EDF report analyzes state emissions data from Rhodium and projected emission reductions from federal investments to determine how much closer these states could bring the country to its goals.

We find that leadership states could shrink the remaining gap to the U.S. national 2030 target by nearly half, if they adopt ambitious and comprehensive policies that achieve their own emissions targets.

To get there, governors and state leaders must shift policy action into high gear, as our analysis reveals these states are currently projected to collectively fall well short of their climate commitments.

The urgency — and the opportunity — for states to move from climate pledges to policy has never been greater. Here’s what you need to know about the analysis:

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

What Washington state can learn from California’s decade of climate investments

By Guest Author / Published: June 30, 2023

This blog was authored by Delia Novak, Western States Climate Policy Intern, U.S. Region.

Since the launch of Washington’s cap-and-invest program in January, the state has raised over $850 million in revenue through two consecutive, sold-out auctions under the program. These cap-and-invest auctions provide critical funding for the clean energy and climate resilience projects that will lock in a swift transition to a healthier, safer climate future — with at least 35% of funding used to benefit communities that are overburdened by air pollution and who will be impacted first and worst by the climate crisis if we fail to act.

Last month, Governor Inslee signed Washington’s final budget for 2023-2025, which will make use of a whopping $2 billion in funding from the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), with highlights including $138 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, $123 million for solar and storage projects, $120 million for zero emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles, and $163 million for home electrification rebates. By making decarbonization more affordable and slashing climate-warming emissions, this funding is already an impressive indication of the opportunities and investment that the cap-and-invest proceeds will deliver to communities across Washington.

But Washington’s climate investments are just getting started. In the meantime, we can look to California’s decade of climate investments to understand the important benefits that Washington’s cap-and-invest program can provide for its communities.

Posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, Jobs, News, Policy / Comments are closed

After the longest walkout in Oregon’s history, the state’s climate progress hangs in the balance

By Kjellen Belcher / Published: June 16, 2023

For the past six weeks, Oregon’s legislative session has been held hostage. On May 3, a small group of state Senators fled the Capitol instead of fulfilling their core responsibility as elected officials: to represent their constituents by casting votes in the legislative process. Yesterday, those legislators finally returned to the Capitol—but with only ten days left in the legislative session, Oregon’s continued climate progress is at risk.

By boycotting the legislative session, these obstructionist lawmakers halted the basic functioning of government by denying the Legislature “quorum,” a Constitutional requirement that two-thirds of all members be present to hold a vote. This walkout tactic has been used to block climate action in the past, and we cannot let it be used again to delay our progress towards a healthier, safer climate future.

Posted in Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Comments are closed

California and Quebec have a major opportunity to raise the ambition of their linked carbon market

By Caroline Jones / Published: June 12, 2023

When the California Air Resources Board (CARB) finalized its Scoping Plan last year, it marked a critical milestone in charting an ambitious – but achievable – path toward a safer, climate future for communities across the state. Now, it’s time for CARB to put that plan into action.

The good news is that air regulators are taking a key step forward with a new joint workshop between California and Quebec on June 14 that will focus on potential amendments to the linked cap-and-trade program. The workshop will discuss the status of the current regulation and, critically, the scope of potential updates to bring the regulation in line with CARB’s 2022 Scoping Plan, which sets a goal of 48% emissions reductions by 2030 – an essential target to ensure California reaches its long-term reduction goals.

Posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, News, Policy / Comments are closed

Washington state’s second cap-and-invest auction shows strong demand

By Caroline Jones / Published: June 7, 2023

Photo Credit: Wendy Olsen Photography

Blog co-authored by Kjellen Belcher, Manager, U.S. Climate

Today’s results from Washington’s second cap-and-invest auction – most notably selling 100% of allowances – continue to signal strong demand for allowances and confidence in the program, bringing significant revenue for the state to reinvest in Washington communities. This is only the second auction held for the cap-and-invest program, following on a strong debut auction which also sold-out and raised almost $300 million in revenue which will be put towards efforts to further decrease Washington’s climate pollution and increase resilience to climate change.

Posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Read 3 Responses

3 considerations for climate negotiators as they close out the first Global Stocktake

By Maggie Ferrato / Published: June 5, 2023

This post was co-authored by Julia Ilhardt, High Meadows Fellow for Global Climate Cooperation at Environmental Defense Fund.

Flags of the world. Getty.

The first Global Stocktake – a process designed to assess collective progress toward the Paris Agreement’s goals on climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance – is rapidly nearing its official conclusion at COP28.

With nearly a full year of discussions completed, the process is shifting from a technical exercise to a political one. The outcome must spur ambition in the upcoming round of national climate plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), due to the UN climate agency in 2025.

A successful outcome of the first Global Stocktake will point countries to opportunities for climate action that will put the world on track to meet the Paris goals.

What has the Global Stocktake told us so far?
The vast amount of technical information and literature submitted for consideration since the start of the Global Stocktake underscores what we already know. Despite progress in recent years, we’re not on track to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. On mitigation, for example, countries must step up the ambition of their NDCs and implement the commitments they’ve already made.

The literature also reminds us, however, that we have a wide range of tools available to tackle the climate crisis. In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that we could reduce emissions by at least half by 2030 with solutions that cost no more than $100 per ton of CO2e. And half of these solutions actually cost less than $20 per ton of CO2e.

Opportunities for action are available across all sectors and greenhouse gases. As countries begin work on their updated climate plans, they must make use of these tools and learn from each other’s experiences.

The next round of NDCs is due to the UNFCCC in two short years, and we now have fewer than seven years left in this critical decade. The Global Stocktake should provide a springboard for action.

The political phase of the Global Stocktake is about generating outputs that help them do just that. Though negotiators have yet to decide on the final form the outputs will take, the products will summarize opportunities, challenges, lessons learned, and good practices for implementing climate solutions.

To ensure a successful first Global Stocktake, here are three things negotiators should keep in mind as the process enters its final phase:

Posted in Energy, International, Paris Agreement, United Nations / Comments are closed

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