Maryland Is Second in Nation in Addressing Global Warming
Baltimore – The United States, long considered a laggard in addressing global warming, is poised to achieve large reductions in global warming pollution thanks to clean energy policies adopted over the past decade by state governments, according to a new report by the Environment America Research & Policy Center. The policies that Maryland has already adopted will reduce global warming pollution by 46 million metric tons, second only to California.
“There’s no doubt that Congress must pass a comprehensive climate bill, but states have delivered a solid down payment on the pollution reductions,” said Environment Maryland State Director Brad Heavner. “Maryland has been a true leader on this issue.”
The new report, America on the Move, released just days before world leaders convene in Copenhagen to negotiate an international agreement on global warming, found that state policies will reduce global warming pollution by approximately 536 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year by 2020 compared to business as usual.
The emission reductions are significant. They represent:
• More global warming pollution than is currently emitted annually by all but eight of the world’s nations.
• Approximately 7 percent of U.S. global warming pollution in 2007.
• Annual emissions from 104 million cars – about 42 percent of the nation’s motor vehicles.
• Annual emissions from 163 coal-fired power plants – about 27 percent of the nation’s coal-fired power plant fleet.
“Maryland has clearly shown that significant progress can be made at the state level to address climate change by taking actions to limit our carbon emissions and to adapt to the effects of global warming,” said Secretary Shari Wilson of the Maryland Department of the Environment. “Maryland has committed to reduce greenhouse gases 25% by 2020, to increase our renewable energy portfolio standards 20% by 2022, and to reduce energy consumption 15% by 2015.”
“States adopted their own laws because they didn’t want to wait for Washington or the international community to act, but they also knew they were serving as catalysts for broader action,” said Del. James Hubbard of Prince George’s County, the chair of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators. “Add it all up and it’s an outstanding amount of action.”
“Maryland continues to lead by example with clean energy advancements needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote energy independence, improve our air, and stimulate the economy,” remarked Malcolm Woolf, director of the Maryland Energy Administration. “The energy programs available under the leadership of the O’Malley-Brown administration are actively addressing the needs of our families and workers through a vast array of renewable energy grants, energy efficiency incentives and green job support. Maryland is truly Smart, Green and Growing.”
America on the Move reviewed more than 100 policies adopted by states, most of them enacted over the past decade, and estimated the emission reductions that will result from those actions.
For example, while the U.S. Congress has yet to adopt a binding national limit on global warming pollution, six U.S. states – California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey – have adopted such limits. These six states account for nearly a quarter of America’s economic output and 13 percent of its fossil fuel-related carbon dioxide emissions. If these six states were a separate country, they would rank as the world’s fifth-largest economy and seventh-leading emitter of carbon dioxide.
Collectively, these six states have committed to reducing global warming pollution by approximately 13 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Including a regional cap on power plant emissions adopted by 10 northeastern states, mandatory emission caps will reduce U.S. emissions by approximately 270 million metric tons per year by 2020 – a level of carbon dioxide pollution comparable to that produced annually by the Netherlands or Turkey.
According to the report, additional reductions will result from a variety of clean energy policies adopted by multiple states, including renewable electricity standards adopted by 29 states, energy efficiency resource standards adopted by 22 states, and a variety of other policies.
Moreover, since President Obama’s inauguration in January, the federal government has implemented several policies initiated by the states nationwide – including limits on vehicle global warming pollution adopted by California and 13 other states, strong energy efficiency standards for appliances and lighting, and strong building energy codes. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress in February, also supports a variety of state and local programs to save energy and reduce global warming pollution.
Environment Maryland urged the federal government to require reductions in global warming pollution in the United States consistent with the reductions science tells us are necessary to prevent the worst impacts of global warming – specifically, emission reductions of 35 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and at least 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050, with the vast majority of those reductions to occur domestically. It also encouraged the federal government to implement the best clean energy policies in place at the state level, and urged states to continue to take leadership in adopting and implementing policies to reduce global warming pollution.
“We said all along while we were promoting these bills that state action would lead to federal and international action. Now it’s time to prove the point,” concluded Heavner. “If Maryland can do it, so can the rest of the world.”
