Climate 411

Last year tied for the hottest year on record. Increasing heat and flood risks from climate change, the result of historical and ongoing emissions of heat-trapping gases, threaten infrastructure, agriculture, and public health throughout Pennsylvania. The federal government, Wall Street, and Americans across the country have awakened to the challenge of climate change and are aggressively taking steps that move our country into the carbon-free future. At this point, the costs of inaction are too big to ignore: Every ton of climate pollution we emit matters.

Consequently, the costs of delaying entry into a program like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) are real – and alarming – for Pennsylvanians. The commonwealth now has the fourth dirtiest power sector in terms of carbon pollution in the nation. The decisions Pennsylvania makes have clear consequences for the health and welfare not only of Pennsylvanians, but the entire U.S. After more than a decade of delay to act on climate in Pennsylvania, there is no reason to slow implementation of RGGI.

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After Colorado legislators passed landmark climate legislation in 2019, which included a statutory mandate directing the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to adopt rules and regulations to reduce statewide emissions, the state has yet to adopt a policy framework capable of getting the job done. This three-part series explores the impact of Colorado’s delay, analyzing the impact on total emissions and the state’s ability to meet its own climate targets.

Alamosa Photovoltaic Power Plant.

Colorado’s policy action is nowhere close to living up to its climate commitments. As we’ve illustrated in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, the state is far off track from meeting its own climate goals, even accounting for all current policies and recently announced coal plant retirements. And the recently released final Roadmap doesn’t include a comprehensive and specific regulatory agenda that will secure the needed reductions. Without urgent action, climate pollution will continue building up in the atmosphere and will wreak further environmental, health and economic havoc on Coloradans.

But in the face of this immense challenge, the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC)—the regulatory body responsible for ensuring Colorado meets its targets—has an opportunity to get the state on the right course. The Commission is already overdue on its responsibility to evaluate options and then propose a regulation or suite of regulations to meet its statutory climate targets. A recent EDF petition for an enforceable, declining emission limit could help the AQCC deliver concrete climate progress on an urgent timeline, while improving health and equity across the state.

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