Louisiana Climate Action Plan: Climate Initiatives Task Force Recommendations to the Governor

Author: Climate Initiatives Task Force
Publishing Organization: State of Louisiana
Date Published: February 2022
Number of Pages: 177
URL: https://gov.louisiana.gov/assets/docs/CCI-Task-force/CAP/Climate_Action_Plan_FINAL_3.pdf

Report Objective

In August 2020, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed Executive Order No. JBE 2020-18, which established a goal for Louisiana to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, including interim goals of a 26-28% and 40-50% reduction in GHG emissions compared to 2005 levels by 2025 and 2030, respectively. The Executive Order also established within the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities the Louisiana Climate Initiatives Task Force, which was tasked with producing an action plan for achieving these decarbonization goals.

The Louisiana Climate Initiatives Task Force established several sector committees ¹ and advisory groups ² to help develop the Louisiana Climate Action Plan, which was released in February 2022. The plan considers seven fundamental objectives: (1) reducing net GHG emissions, (2) improving health and quality of life for residents and communities, (3) creating a more equitable society, (4) strengthening the economy and workforce, (5) conserving natural resources, (6) adapting to a changing climate, and (7) managing for short- and long-term success. The Plan is intended to be updated every five years to reflect changing economic and technological trends.

How the Report Was Produced

The Louisiana Climate Initiatives Task Force served as the lead body for the report and worked with stakeholders to develop the report’s analysis and recommendations. The Task Force consists of six sector committees and four advisory groups, which include 140 representatives from the public and private sectors. Several consultants, including The Water Institute of the Gulf, the LSU Center for Energy Studies, and Energy Innovation, provided technical and planning support for development of the Climate Action Plan. The primary state office involved was the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities, which managed and oversaw the Task Force’s efforts. Stakeholder engagement consisted of 49 public meetings over 16 months, in addition to public feedback on drafts of the Climate Action Plan.

Report’s Organization and Modeling Approach

The Louisiana Climate Action Plan report starts by providing the context behind Louisiana’s climate efforts, including the vision, goals, and objectives of the state’s climate goals and strategies. It then outlines the report’s methodology, followed by a discussion of the state’s current GHG emissions and benefits associated with the report’s strategy. Next, the report proposes 28 strategies and 84 actions across eight decarbonization categories to address climate change in Louisiana. The report includes a discussion of the benefits associated with each strategy; the relevant implementation partners, near-term actions, and goals associated with each proposed action; detailed context and rationale to justify each proposed action; and dissenting opinions from certain task force members for each proposed action when applicable. The report also includes an implementation matrix and table of dissenting opinions that summarize the key considerations associated with proposed strategies and actions.

The report conducts a modeling analysis of the GHG emissions reduction potential based on two primary scenarios, although the modeling results do not feature prominently in the Climate Action Plan itself. One scenario represents the business-as-usual reference case, while the other represents the modeled decarbonization potential based on implementation of the strategies and actions proposed in the Climate Action Plan. The report also considers two additional sources of potential GHG emissions reduction that are not included in the modeling analysis due to model assumptions or limitations: (1) land and wetland sinks and (2) federal action, regional cooperation, and carbon pricing. Based on the results of the modeling effort, three key policy pillars are identified for achieving Louisiana’s net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 goal: (1) renewable electricity generation, (2) industrial electrification, and (3) industrial fuel switching to low- and zero-carbon hydrogen. The model also considers the complementary impacts associated with industrial decarbonization, such as the potential increase in power sector emissions associated with electrification of industrial facilities. The report acknowledges certain assumptions that served as inputs into the modeling process, as well as limitations and uncertainties associated with the modeling analysis; in the process, it emphasizes that Louisiana’s emissions trajectory will ultimately depend on implementation, enforcement, and execution of the strategies and actions proposed in the Climate Action Plan.

Much of the substance of the modeling analysis is presented in two technical appendix documents developed by The Water Institute of the Gulf. Consequence Analysis of a Hypothetical Portfolio of Climate Strategies and Consequence Analysis of the Draft Portfolio of Climate Strategies and Actions include more detailed quantitative analyses of the emissions and economic impacts associated with the proposed strategies and actions included in the Climate Action Plan.

Report’s Key Recommendations

The report proposes the following 28 strategies, each of which includes several actions, across eight categories for Louisiana to achieve its climate and decarbonization goals.

• Clean Energy Transition
  • Shift towards a clean, renewable, and resilient power grid
  • Increase access to and deployment of distributed energy resources
• Industrial Decarbonization
  • Monitor, inventory, certify, and support industrial decarbonization
  • Improve efficiencies in and modernization of industrial processes and facilities
  • Accelerate industrial electrification, switching to low- or no-carbon fuels and low- or no-carbon feedstocks
  • Promote reduced-carbon materials
• Actively Managed Methane Emissions
  • Increase and mobilize resources for decommissioning legacy oil and gas infrastructure
  • Monitor and regulate methane emissions
• Transportation, Development, and the Built Environment
  • Accelerate adoption and accessibility of low- and zero-emission vehicles and fuels
  • Reduce vehicle miles traveled and increase transportation efficiencies
  • Increase urban, rural, and regional public transit service
  • Coordinate land use planning to reduce sprawl and support healthy and resilient communities
  • Improve the efficiency and resilience of homes and non-residential buildings
• Natural and Working Lands and Wetlands
  • Preserve and expand natural lands and urban green spaces to maximize climate mitigation and adaptation goals
  • Restore and conserve Louisiana’s coastal wetlands to maximize climate mitigation and adaptation goals
  • Support the sustainable management and conservation of working agricultural and forestry lands
• An Inclusive, Low-Carbon Economy
  • Build a more inclusive and resilient economy for all Louisiana residents
  • Strengthen climate education, research, and innovation as a focus of Louisiana’s energy transition
  • Prioritize Louisiana workers and businesses in the transition to a low-carbon economy
• Collaboration and Partnership to Ensure Successful Implementation
  • Ensure Louisiana is prepared to maximize potential federal funding opportunities
  • Position Louisiana as a climate leader by engaging in national and regional dialogues and planning
  • Align climate action approaches across state government
  • Coordinate action with local government
  • Call upon the private sector to align their practices and play a leading role in climate action
  • Improve engagement with and track progress on outcomes for disadvantaged communities and Indigenous peoples
• Accountability and Adaptability to Ensure Lasting Success
  • Advance an equitable, efficient, and sustainable siting and permitting process for new energy and infrastructure projects
  • Ensure that Climate Action plan strategies are effectively and transparently implemented
  • Track progress in reducing net GHG emissions reductions and adapt the approaches taken as needed

Report’s Key Conclusions

• Louisiana is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as a coastal state prone to natural disasters. It has already experienced the physical, mental, and financial costs associated with climate change.
• Louisiana’s interim goals, particularly its commitment to a 26-28% reduction in GHG emissions compared to 2005 levels by 2025, will be difficult but possible to achieve.
• Louisiana’s GHG emissions disproportionately originate from the industrial sector, with industrial emissions accounting for 66% of the state’s total emissions in 2021. Consequently, a focus on industrial decarbonization, which remains challenging, must be taken. Doing so will require development of innovative technologies in addition to deployment of existing technologies.
• Three key policy pillars will be particularly crucial for Louisiana to achieve its net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 goals, including renewable electricity generation, industrial electrification, and industrial fuel switching to low- and no-carbon hydrogen.
• Louisiana stands to benefit from collaboration with the federal government and other regional stakeholders, including on the development of regional clean hydrogen and carbon capture hubs, regional carbon pricing efforts, and specific policies and programs including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Earthshot initiative and the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• Louisiana has particularly viable carbon sinks, including its forest, wetland, and coastal areas.
• Because the economic, technological, and policy landscape will shift over the next several years, Louisiana should take a flexible and adaptive approach towards crafting and implementing its climate and decarbonization strategy, including revisions to its Climate Action Plan every five years.

Notable Takeaways

Louisiana is the only state in the Deep South with a Climate Action Plan. It is also one of the most vulnerable states to climate impacts due to the low elevation of much of the state and exposure to hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Louisiana gives more attention to industrial emissions than do most other states in their plans. Louisiana’s greenhouse gas emissions are disproportionately represented by the industrial sector (66% in 2021), dominated by chemical manufacturing, petroleum and coal, and natural gas processing. Industrial decarbonization is particularly challenging. The large emissions from industry make “green hydrogen” technologies attractive, as a replacement for other sources of hydrogen used in refineries and chemical processing.

Louisiana also has a long way to go with diversifying and decarbonizing its power generation (currently 71% natural gas, 2% renewable).

Reflecting the experience of Hurricane Katrina, the report acknowledges the mental health impacts of climate change, including the “physical, mental, and financial tolls from extreme weather and indirect impacts to social systems and infrastructure that is struggling to cope with the increasing prevalence and severity of natural disasters.” It also does a particularly effective job articulating the rationale behind its focus on equity, acknowledging that low-income communities and communities of color have been “excluded from the opportunity to build wealth for generations…and are more likely to experience insufficient or delayed investments in infrastructure and disaster recovery efforts.”

Unlike other states, Louisiana explicitly mentions and focuses on managing and mitigating methane emissions.

***

(1) These six sector committees are: (1) agriculture, forestry, conservation, and waste; (2) land use, buildings, and housing; (3) manufacturing and industry; (4) mining, oil, and gas; (5) power production, distribution, and use; and (6) transportation.

(2) These four advisory groups are: (1) equity, (2) finance, (3) legal, and (4) science.

Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap

Authors: Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, The Cadmus Group

Publishing Organization: Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Date Published: December 2020

Number of Pages: 92 plus stand-alone, sector-specific technical appendices

URL: https://www.mass.gov/doc/ma-2050-decarbonization-roadmap/download

Report Objective

In January 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker committed the Commonwealth to “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 during the annual State of the Commonwealth address. Shortly thereafter, the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, as authorized by the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act, set the statewide 2050 emissions limit at net-zero with a minimum of 85% reduction in economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This goal strengthened Massachusetts’ previous commitment to achieve an 80 percent emissions reduction by 2050.

EEA commissioned the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap Study to understand the short- and long-term strategies necessary for Massachusetts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The Roadmap Study also seeks to illuminate various tradeoffs Massachusetts may face to achieve this deep decarbonization goal and provide guidance on interim 2030 emissions reduction goals. The report, Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap, was released in December 2020 along with 6 technical appendices. It seeks to answer a core question: “How can the Commonwealth [of Massachusetts] achieve Net Zero while maintaining a healthy, equitable, and thriving economy?”

The report synthesizes the results of study’s integrated, cross-sector energy modeling of eight distinct pathways for Massachusetts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, their economic and health impacts, more sector-specific analyses of deep decarbonization, and the carbon sequestration potential of Massachusetts’ natural and working lands. Recognizing that the transition to a low-carbon economy over the next several decades will necessarily entail change and uncertainty, the report emphasizes flexibility and seeks to identify “no-regret” actions Massachusetts can take.

Update: In December 2022, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs released the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2050, which outlines the state's plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Building off the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap, the plan focuses on implementation of climate solutions and identifies specific actions, strategies, and updated sub-sector emissions reduction targets for Massachusetts. It incorporates feedback on previous roadmaps and analysis of pathways, along with a focus on environmental justice and equity impacts.

How the Report Was Produced

EEA served as the lead state agency for the report and worked with consultants from The Cadmus Group. The Global Warming Solutions Act Implementation Advisory Committee and working groups of that committee contributed to the report’s analysis. Additional partners, including a range of analytic contributors, a technical steering committee of 21 university affiliates, and staff representing seven state agencies, provided analytical and advisory support throughout the development of the report. Stakeholder engagement consisted of a combination of in-person and virtual public meetings, online public comment opportunities, and feedback sessions with a representative range of stakeholders.

Report’s Organization and Modeling Approach

The report starts by discussing the context and motivation behind Massachusetts’ net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal, then provides an overview of the modeling approach and stakeholder engagement process, discusses the existing Massachusetts emissions portfolio, proposes strategic recommendations across multiple sectors for the state to achieve its goal, and identifies policy implications and other action items for Massachusetts to pursue moving forward. The report emphasizes the importance of a systems engineering analytical approach, one that considers the interactive dynamics among constituent parts of a complex broader system and touches upon the importance of equity considerations and addressing environmental justice.

Two modeling approaches were utilized to develop the report, including: (1) an “integrated, regional, cross-sector energy system pathways analysis consisting of results from eight differing high-level pathways,” and (2) sector-specific analysis for the buildings, transportation, non-energy, and land sectors and an economic and health impacts analysis. These sector-specific and impact analyses were published as supplementary technical reports.

With the first approach, an integrated cross-sector energy modeling platform was used to identify the physical and technological interdependencies across the Commonwealth’s energy system and economy.  A regional lens was taken to accurately represent the Commonwealth’s energy system and economy, and to consider the impacts of the broader Northeast’s decarbonization efforts on Massachusetts’ strategy and interactive effects associated with regional coordination. This integrated pathways modeling approach explicitly looked at the necessary technologies for Massachusetts to achieve its net-zero emissions by 2050 goal based on eight pathways that each balanced hourly energy supply and demand at minimum cost. These eight pathways primarily differ in their built-in model assumptions regarding the scale of deployment, as determined by resource cost and availability, including ones that consider breakthroughs in certain technologies, constraints in other energy resources, a grid powered fully by renewable energy, and emphasis on pipeline gas or regional coordination. By pursuing this pathways approach, Massachusetts sought to develop a more thorough, holistic understanding of “different technological evolutions, advancements, and constraints” as well as the “costs, benefits, risks, opportunities, and tradeoffs associated with different decarbonization strategies” in order to identify “no-regret” actions that Massachusetts should take regardless of technological or policy uncertainties.

In contrast, the supplementary sector-specific modeling allowed for more detailed analysis of sectoral transitions, especially through 2030. By relying on more granular data specific to Massachusetts, these analyses were able to explore specific policy measures that could accelerate progress on the strategies identified in the integrated pathways modeling analysis and understand socioeconomic and equity implications of such pathways.

Based on this modeling analysis, the report proposes a detailed range of specific strategies for light-duty transportation; medium- and heavy-duty transportation, aviation, and shipping; residential and commercial buildings; electricity and energy; non-energy and industry; natural carbon sequestration; and additional carbon dioxide removal. For each of these focus areas, the report outlines its current contribution to Massachusetts’ emissions, strategies associated with its decarbonization transition, near-term implications, areas of further research, and case studies.

Overall, the technical analysis of the report aimed to achieve five objectives:

• “Start with the technical to enable policy and implementation”
• “Explore multiple pathways to Net Zero to support the development of robust and resilient decarbonization strategies”
• “Create optionality for the Commonwealth”
• “Use ‘back-cast’ modeling,” which involves starting with the 2050 goals and working backwards to understand the transformations that would be needed to reach those goals
• “Produce granular data to unlock and enable policy implementation and market action”

Report Key Recommendations and Conclusions

• There exist multiple viable pathways for Massachusetts to affordably and equitably achieve its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 while growing its economy.
• These pathways will all yield significant economic and health benefits for Massachusetts.
• Regional collaboration is critical: how Massachusetts’ neighbors pursue climate action may dramatically impact costs, risks, and impacts of Massachusetts’ approach. Massachusetts cannot practically achieve its net-zero emissions goal through state-level policies alone, absent a broader regional strategy.
• Massachusetts does not need to wait around: the core technologies and techniques necessary for Massachusetts to achieve its goals are already known and largely commercialized.
• The four key pillars comprising Massachusetts’ strategy for reducing emissions are to:
  • Transition energy “end-uses” (including buildings and vehicles) away from fossil fuels
  • Deploy more energy efficiency and load flexibility
  • Decarbonize the energy supply
  • Remove carbon from the atmosphere
• Key constraints for Massachusetts to achieve its goal include land use, bioenergy availability, and low- and zero-carbon fuels.
• The most cost-effective and feasible strategies for Massachusetts to achieve near-term emissions reductions include increased regional coordination on decarbonization strategies, particularly on transportation fuels and energy system planning, and electrification of building heating and passenger vehicles.
• New, transformed, and expanded markets, shaped by intentional redesign and/or indirect responses to policy or regulatory measures, will be instrumental in Massachusetts achieving its net-zero goal.

Notable Takeaways

The Roadmap consists of a core report with supplemental sections on certain topics, including transportation, buildings, non-energy emissions, and land use. Such an approach allows for a broad view of how Massachusetts fits in with the climate actions of other New England states, while going into greater depth for key sectors.

The sectoral studies serve to offer guidance to policymakers on how they could craft climate policies for specific sectors that may not be well-treated with an overarching policy, such as a carbon tax or cap and trade. It also gives an opportunity for those sectors to provide detailed input to the policies, such as on how fluorinated gases are used and how they can be phased out.

Building on the Roadmap, Massachusetts adopted Senate Bill 9, “An Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy,” in March 2021. The law sets interim targets of at least 50 percent reductions by 2030, and at least 75 percent by 2040, on the way to at least net-zero emissions by 2050.  It also “significantly increases protections for Environmental Justice communities across Massachusetts, authorizes the Administration to implement a new, voluntary energy efficient building code for municipalities, and allows the Commonwealth to procure an additional 2,400 Megawatts (MW) of clean, reliable offshore wind energy by 2027.”

The law further directs the EEA to set sectoral greenhouse gas limits for electric power, transportation, commercial and industrial heating and cooling, residential heating and cooling, industrial processes, and natural gas distribution and service.

The figure below (page 24 of the Roadmap report) shows the fuel types projected to be used for energy and the energy sources projected to be used for electricity generation from 2020 to 2050.

Maine Won't Wait: A Four-Year Plan for Climate Action

Authors: Maine Climate Council

Publishing Organization: Maine Climate Council

Date Published: December 2020

Number of Pages: 124

URL: https://www.maine.gov/future/sites/maine.gov.future/files/inline-files/MaineWontWait_December2020.pdf 

Report Objective

In September 2019, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed Executive Order No. 10, which established a goal for Maine to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. Earlier that year, in June 2019, Governor Mills signed LD 1494 into law, which strengthened the state’s renewable portfolio standard to include a requirement of 80 percent renewable electricity by 2030 and a goal for Maine to achieve 100 percent by 2050. Additionally, LD 1679 established the Maine Climate Council, a body tasked with providing strategic recommendations for the state to achieve the goals of a 45 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (from 1990 levels) and at least 80 percent  by 2050.

The Maine Climate Council established several working groups¹ and subcommittees that helped develop a Maine Climate Action Plan, which consists of analysis and recommendations for the state to achieve its climate and energy goals. That plan, Maine Won’t Wait: A Four-Year Plan for Climate Action, was released in December 2020. The report, which primarily proposes strategies for Maine to achieve the emissions reduction goals previously mentioned, considers the four main objectives: (1) “reduce Maine's greenhouse gas emission,” (2) “avoid the impacts and costs of inaction,” (3) “foster economic opportunity and prosperity,” and (4) “advance equity through Maine's climate response.” Based on these goals, it outlines a series of strategies that Maine can use to advance progress towards meeting these goals as part of a broader transition to greater renewable energy use and reduced emissions.

1: These six working groups comprise: (1) transportation; (2) buildings, infrastructure, and housing; (3) energy; (4) community resilience planning, emergency management, and public health; (5) coastal and marine; and (6) natural and working lands. There is also a scientific and technical subcommittee.

How the Report Was Produced

The Maine Climate Council served as the lead body for the report and worked with stakeholders to develop the report’s analysis and recommendations. The Council consists of six topical working groups and one subcommittee, each of which includes dozens of representatives from the public and private sectors. Several consultants, including Consensus Building Institute, Eastern Research Group, and Synapse Energy Economics, provided analytical support and helped produce supplementary technical reports. Select state offices were also involved, including the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, the Governor’s Energy Office, and Efficiency Maine Trust, as well as state agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry; the Department of Marine Resources; and the Department of Environmental Protection. Stakeholder engagement consisted of a combination of in-person and remote feedback sessions, surveys, and focus groups.

Report’s Organization and Modeling Approach

The report starts by discussing the context and motivation behind Maine’s goals for carbon neutrality and 45 percent emissions reduction by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050, including an overview of Maine’s already visible climate impacts. It then outlines the report’s key considerations, including emissions reductions, the costs of inaction, economic benefits, and equity. Next, the report proposes eight key strategies, each of which contains several sub-strategies and targets, outlined below, to inform the state’s implementation efforts. Following this discussion, it provides a brief overview of the state’s implementation strategy, including an implementation chart that identifies relevant state agencies and partner organizations for implementing specific strategies proposed in the report. The report also includes a robust set of proposed quantitative and qualitative metrics for Maine to use when assessing progress towards meeting its climate and energy goals, as well as a set of potential financing options for Maine to leverage to fund implementation of the state’s climate and energy objectives. Throughout the report are several case studies, sidebars, and stakeholder interviews and testimonials that highlight specific aspects of Maine’s economy and society that will be impacted by or are relevant to the report’s strategies.

The report is accompanied by several scientific and technical analyses, including a series of four technical volumes produced in collaboration with Eastern Research Group and Synapse Energy Economics that assess the impacts of climate change on Maine’s economy, revenues, and investment decisions. In particular, the four volumes include a “vulnerability mapping analysis” that identifies particularly at-risk communities and segments of Maine's economy, a “cost of doing nothing” analysis that analyzes the consequences of unabated climate change for Maine, a “Maine emissions analysis and energy sector modeling” that documents data pertaining to Maine's energy use and emissions, and “economic analyses of adaptation and mitigation strategies” that quantify costs and benefits of the strategies proposed by the Maine Climate Council. This last volume included a cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness (dollars per ton) analysis, and an economic impact and jobs analysis. Other supplementary reports focus on equity and climate impacts. 

Report Key Recommendations and Conclusions

The report proposes the following strategies and sub-strategies for Maine to achieve its climate and energy goals. 

• Embrace the Future of Transportation in Maine
  • Accelerate Maine's transition to electric vehicles
  • Increase fuel efficiency and alternative fuels 
  • Reduce vehicle miles traveled
• Modernize Maine's Buildings: Energy-Efficient, Smart and Cost-Effective Homes and Businesses
  • Transition to cleaner heating and cooling systems, efficient appliances
  • Accelerate efficiency improvements to existing buildings
  • Advance the design and construction of new buildings
  • Advance the design and promote climate-friendly building products
  • ‘Lead by example’ in publicly funded buildings
  • Renewable fuels standard
  • Replace hydrofluorocarbons with climate-friendly alternatives
• Reduce Carbon Emissions in Maine’s Energy and Industrial Sectors through Clean-Energy Innovation
  • Ensure adequate affordable clean-energy supply
  • Initiate a stakeholder process to transform Maine’s electric power sector
  • Accelerate emissions reductions of industrial uses and processes
  • Encourage highly efficient combined heat and power facilities
• Grow Maine’s Clean-Energy Economy and Protect Our Natural-Resource Industries
  • Take advantage of new market opportunities 
  • Clean-energy jobs and businesses in Maine
• Protect Maine’s Environment and Working Lands and Waters: Promote Natural Climate Solutions and Increase Carbon Sequestration
  • Protect natural and working lands and waters
  • Develop new incentives to increase carbon storage
  • Expand outreach to offer information and technical assistance
  • Enhanced monitoring and data collection to guide decisions
• Build Healthy and Resilient Communities
  • Empower local and regional community resilience efforts
  • Adopt official sea-level rise projections
  • Emphasize resilience through land-use planning and legal tools
  • Strengthen public-health monitoring, education, and prevention
• Invest in Climate-Ready Infrastructure
  • Assess climate vulnerability and provide climate-ready design guidance
  • Establish the State Infrastructure Adaptation Fund
• Engage with Maine People and Communities about Climate Impacts and Program Opportunities
  • Raise awareness about climate-change impacts and opportunities
  • Increase public education offerings related to climate and energy
  • Start the ‘Maine Climate Corps’ for climate-related workforce development
  • Recognize climate leadership by Maine businesses and organizations

Notable Takeaways

The Maine Climate Council was set up in a way that involves a large number of executive branch agencies, legislators, quasi-government agencies, experts, and representatives of stakeholder interests. Hundreds of people are listed in the report’s acknowledgments. The Council’s ongoing working group and subcommittee structure ensures that the report will not be forgotten and will lead to policy implementation. Additionally, the Maine Climate Council added an equity subcommittee to support ongoing planning and implementation of the state’s climate strategies to ensure shared benefits across diverse populations in Maine.

The four overarching climate action plan goals—(1) reduce Maine's GHG emissions, (2) avoid the impacts and costs of inaction, (3) foster economic opportunity and prosperity, and (4) advance equity—are well-articulated and create a clear framework for the report. The report presents a wide range of recommendations that span many topics and policy approaches.  

Reflecting the state’s focus on its natural resources and physical environment, especially its forests, the report gives more attention than most other state decarbonization reports to carbon sequestration and to land-based impacts.  It is also unique among state reports in how it explicitly quantifies the costs of inaction, rather than just pointing to impacts of climate change.

Michigan Healthy Climate Plan

Author: Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
Publishing Organization: Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
Date Published: April 2022
Number of Pages: 58
URL: https://www.michigan.gov/egle/-/media/Project/Websites/egle/Documents/Offices/OCE/MI-Healthy-Climate-Plan.pdf

Report Objective

In September 2020, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Directive No. 2020-10, which established a goal for Michigan to achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050. This expanded upon a pre-existing decarbonization goal outlined in Executive Directive No. 2019-12, which committed Michigan to join the United States Climate Alliance, align with the decarbonization goals outlined under the Paris Agreement, and achieve a 26-28% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to 2005 levels by 2025.

Governor Whitmer’s Executive Directive directed the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to produce a plan outlining strategies and pathways for reducing GHG emissions and transitioning to economy-wide carbon neutrality. The MI Healthy Climate Action Plan was released in April 2022. The Executive Directive assigned the Office of Climate and Energy to oversee implementation of the plan. Furthermore, Executive Order No. 2020-182 established as an advisory body under EGLE the Council on Climate Solutions, which consists of 14 Michigan residents who reflect a broad, diverse cross-section of Michigan.

The plan proposes a series of strategies the state can take to achieve its carbon neutrality goal. Its objectives are to: mitigate the worst impacts of climate change; spur economic development and create good-paying jobs; protect and improve the health of Michiganders; position Michigan as a leader in climate action; protect natural resources and wildlife; make Michigan energy independent, and address environmental injustices. Although the plan is centered around the long-term vision of economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050, its recommendations focus on near-term actions that Michigan can take by 2030 to accelerate progress towards meeting both short- and long-term decarbonization goals.

How the Report Was Produced

EGLE served as the lead state agency overseeing the development of the plan. The Council on Climate Solutions served to gather, reflect, and synthesize stakeholder feedback to inform the process. Many state departments and agencies were represented on the Council, including the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Labor and Economic Opportunity, Natural Resources, Transportation, and Health and Human Services, as well as the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Public Service Commission. The Council consists of six topical working groups. ¹ Stakeholder engagement included 1,929 public comments received across seven listening sessions, 17 public Council meetings, two consultations with tribal governments, and a variety of other opportunities for public comment.

Report’s Organization

The report starts by providing an overview of Michigan’s climate commitments, the benefits associated with climate action and the costs of climate inaction for Michigan, and the state’s existing GHG emissions inventory. The report then articulates a vision for a carbon-neutral Michigan, discusses a roadmap to 2030, before identifying six strategies to achieve these goals. For each strategy, the report outlines key sub-strategies, background context, implementation steps, and actions to advance Michigan’s decarbonization efforts. Lastly, the report concludes with a discussion of ways in which Michigan is pursuing and advancing state government leadership on climate action. Throughout the report are several testimonials from Michigan residents that highlight important considerations as Michigan pursues a just transition towards a carbon neutral economy.

The report does not include any modeling analysis. The report is accompanied by two appendices: a summary of different workgroups’ recommendations to the Council on Climate Solutions and the Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice's recommendations to the Council on Climate Solutions.

Report’s Key Recommendations

The report proposes six primary strategies to achieve Michigan’s goal of economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050, each of which is supported by additional sub-strategies, including specific policies, programs, and targets, to substantiate the goals. These six key strategies, including quantitative targets and sub-strategies, are:

• Commit to environmental justice and pursue a just transition
  • Quantitative Targets
    • Ensure 40% of state funding benefits Michigan's disadvantaged communities in alignment with federal Justice40 guidelines.
  • Sub-strategies
    • Avoid creating further inequities through holistic planning
    • Invest in justice through Justice40 guidelines
    • Carry out inclusive and transparent engagement and decision making
    • Invest in the workforce and a just transition
• Clean the electric grid
  • Quantitative Targets
    • Achieve 60% renewable electricity and eliminate coal-fired power plants by 2030.
    • Limit energy burden to 6% of annual income for low-income households.
    • Establish statewide storage targets of 1000 MW, 2500 MW, and 4000 MW of grid-scale storage by 2025, 2030, and 2040, respectively.
  • Sub-strategies
    • Drive adoption of renewables
    • Transition away from fossil fuels
    • Ensure resource adequacy through investments in infrastructure and planning
    • Reduce energy burden and ensure affordability and justice
• Electrify vehicles and increase public transit
  • Quantitative Targets
    • Develop infrastructure to support 2 million electric vehicles by 2030 in Michigan.
    • Increase access to clean transportation by 15% annually.
    • Transition the state government fleet to 100% zero-emissions vehicles.
  • Sub-strategies
    • Transition to cleaner fuels and electric vehicles
    • Increase access to diverse transportation options, including public transit, walking, and biking
    • Implement people- and planet-focused transportation planning through a collaborative approach
• Repair and decarbonize homes and businesses
  • Quantitative Targets
    • Achieve 17% emissions reductions by 2030 for heating Michigan buildings.
    • Achieve 2% annual electric energy efficiency savings.
  • Sub-strategies
    • Reduce energy waste
    • Build new, clean buildings
    • Rethink how buildings are heated
    • Increase financing accessibility and attract private sector capital
• Drive clean innovation in industry
  • Quantitative Targets
    • Increase Michigan's recycling rate to 45% by 2030.
    • Reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.
  • Sub-strategies
    • Promote energy efficiency in industrial facilities
    • Grow its circular economy and expand markets for cleaner products
    • Invest in the creation of clean innovation hubs
• Protect Michigan’s land and water
  • Quantitative Target
    • Protect 30% of Michigan's land and water resources by 2030.
  • Sub-strategies
    • Protect Michigan’s natural resources and land use
    • Improve soil health and innovation in agriculture

Report Key Conclusions

• Michigan is already feeling the consequences of climate change and must take immediate steps to address climate change through both mitigation and adaptation measures. Taking these steps represents an opportunity to generate positive health, environmental, and economic outcomes while correcting historical environmental injustices and impacts of a fossil-based economy.
• Michigan should focus on three key sectors to maximize decarbonization impact: energy production, transportation, and the built environment.
• Environmental justice and equity are important dimensions through which to consider implementation of the strategies proposed in the plan.

Notable Takeaways

The MI Healthy Climate Plan was produced with involvement from a wide range of state agencies, not just environmental agencies. The plan considers how to achieve both near-term interim goals, as well as the overall economy-wide longer-term 2050 goal.

The plan directly addresses environmental justice. It references and commits to federal Justice40 guidelines.

The plan identifies useful general strategies and provides a well-organized framework for thinking about how to move forward to achieve Michigan’s goals. However, compared to some other states’ plans, it does not have as much detailed discussion of specific implementation steps and tactics.

***

(1) These working groups include: (1) energy production, transmission, distribution, and storage, (2) transportation and mobility, (3) building and housing, (4) natural and working lands and forest products, (5) energy intensive industries, and (6) material decarbonization (an ad hoc working group).

North Carolina Clean Energy Plan: Transitioning to a 21st Century Electricity System

Authors: North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality

Publishing Organization: State of North Carolina, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality

Date Published: October 2019

Number of Pages: 146

URL: https://files.nc.gov/ncdeq/climate-change/clean-energy-plan/NC_Clean_Energy_Plan_OCT_2019_.pdf 

Report Objective

In October 2018, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 80, which directed the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) to develop a Clean Energy Plan (CEP) to analyze and propose strategies to meet North Carolina’s renewable energy and grid modernization goals. The resulting report, the North Carolina Clean Energy Plan: Transitioning to a 21st Century Electricity System, was released in October 2019. It proposes that the state pursue greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions of 70 percent by 2030 by 2005 levels and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The Executive Order commissioned NCDEQ to “encourage the use of clean energy resources and technologies and to foster the development of a modern and resilient electricity system” through the CEP. The plan, which is supplemented by six supporting documents¹, analyzes the present and future of North Carolina’s energy system and identifies goals along with strategies for achieving them. The aim is to “provide policy makers, regulatory bodies, local governments, and others with a high-level implementation plan for achieving the goals and targets set in the CEP.” These strategies are broken down into short-, mid-, and longer-term timeframes to optimize for cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and reliability. In summary, the CEP seeks not only to outline where North Carolina should head, but also to recommend pathways for achieving this future.

1: These supporting documents cover: (1) “Energy Sector Profile and Landscape,” (2) “North Carolina's Energy Resources,” “Electricity Rates and Energy Burden,” “Stakeholder Engagement Process and Comments,” “Energy and Emissions Modeling,” and “Clean Energy Jobs and Economic Outlook.”

How the Report Was Produced

NCDEQ served as the lead state agency for the report and worked with consultants from RMI and the Regulatory Assistance Project. Additional partners included Duke University and North Carolina State University, which provided strategic support for the CEP, and the North Carolina Utilities Commission for advising NCDEQ throughout the development of the report. Stakeholder engagement consisted of facilitated workshops, feedback sessions, statewide events, and online feedback forms, including involvement from 166 organizations both inside and outside North Carolina.

Report’s Organization and Modeling Approach

The report starts by discussing the context and motivation behind North Carolina’s carbon neutrality by 2050 goal, including the state's current and future energy system and key trends influencing it. The report then outlines the stakeholder engagement process. Next, it provides detailed policy and strategic recommendations, each of which is supported by discussion of its rationale and identification of relevant stakeholders. Affordability, equity, and reliability serve as key guiding principles for the development of these proposed strategies.

A multifaceted modeling approach was utilized to develop the report, with multiple organizations contributing to the modeling efforts. Each organization conducted modeling for at least one “reference case” and at least one “policy case,” yielding a cost-benefit analysis for proposed strategies. The first recommendation in the resulting Clean Energy Plan called for another report that would involve further modeling and analysis of the plan’s strategies in order to recommend specific policy designs. That report, Power Sector Carbon Reduction: An Evaluation of Policies for North Carolina, was developed by Duke University and the University of North Carolina and was published in March 2021. 

The North Carolina Clean Energy Plan outlines the following overarching recommendations to guide further proposed strategies for North Carolina to pursue:

• “Develop carbon reduction policy designs for accelerated retirement of uneconomic coal assets and other market-based and clean energy policy options”
• “Develop and implement policies and tools such as performance-based mechanisms, multi-year rate planning, and revenue decoupling, that better align utility incentives with public interest, grid needs, and state policy”
• “Modernize the grid to support clean energy resource adoption, resilience, and other public interest outcomes”

The plan then specifically proposes the following strategies for North Carolina, each of which includes further sub-strategies and a list of relevant stakeholders:

• “Carbon Reduction”²
  • “Decarbonize the electric power sector”
• “Utility Incentives and Comprehensive System Planning”³
  • “Modernize utility tools and incentives”
  • “Require comprehensive utility system planning processes”
• “Grid Modernizations and Resilience”⁴
  • “Modernize the grid to support clean energy resources”
  • “Strengthen the resilience and flexibility of the grid”
• “Clean Energy Deployment and Economic Development”⁵
  • “Enable customers to choose clean energy”
  • “DER interconnection and compensation for value added to the grid”
  • “Clean energy economic development opportunities”
• “Equitable Access and Just Transition”⁶
  • “Address equitable access and energy affordability”
  • “Foster a just transition to clean energy”
• “Energy Efficiency and Beneficial Electrification”⁷
  • “Increase use of energy efficiency & demand side management programs”
  • “Create strategies for electrification”

The plan also articulates the following vision for a modernized electricity system for North Carolina, one that:

• “Properly incentivizes the utilities, independent power producers, and consumers”
• “Recognizes the combined benefits of bidirectional flow of energy between the central grid and distributed energy resources” (DERs)
• “Serves as a catalyst for innovation, new business development, and economic growth in the state”
• “Invests and retains capital in local communities, creates a 21st century workforce, and justly transitions to clean energy jobs”
• Strengthens “resiliency to natural threats and decarbonizes the electric power sector”

The plan mentions that, to achieve this vision, North Carolina should work towards creating an integrated energy system that:

• “Recognizes the combined benefits of the central grid and DERs”
• “Invests and retains capital in local communities”
• “Creates jobs of the 21st century”
• “Serves as a catalyst for innovation, new business development and continued economic development in the state” 

2: This strategy focuses on greenhouse gas mitigation policies for electricity.
3: This strategy focuses on utility incentive structures and regulatory processes.
4: This strategy focuses on electric grid modernization strategies, particularly around resilience and flexibility.
5: This strategy focuses on expanding clean energy resources and associated economic benefits.
6: This strategy focuses on equity impacts for marginalized communities.
7: This strategy focuses on ways to electrify end-use sectors beyond energy.

Report Key Recommendations and Conclusions

The report concludes that North Carolina must take significant further action to achieve substantial emissions reductions in line with the state’s climate objectives. This includes establishing goals of an emissions reduction of 70 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels and carbon neutrality by 2050.  It argues that these actions can be achieved at low cost through market-based mechanisms and policies, particularly around renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Notable Takeaways

This report is somewhat different in purpose and format than many state 100 percent planning reports, because it did not start from established state decarbonization targets and milestone dates. Instead, part of the purpose of the report was to propose goals, along with recommendations for how to achieve them.

The report provides a comprehensive overview of North Carolina’s existing energy system, as well as the opportunities and barriers associated with transitioning to a “grid of the future.” It links strategies for expanding renewable energy generation to related aims, such as grid modernization.

North Carolina has not yet created the authority to move to higher levels of clean energy, either through legislation or executive order. The current state Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard runs only through 2021, when it hits 12.5 percent.  A proposed House bill, HB951, would make a number of changes that could reduce NC power sector emissions about 64% from a 2005 baseline, short of the Clean Energy Plan’s goal of 70%.  In June 2021, Gov. Cooper issued Executive Order 218 setting offshore wind development goals of 2.8 gigawatts off the North Carolina coast by 2030 and 8.0 GW by 2040.   

2019 New Jersey Energy Master Plan: Pathway to 2050

Authors: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities 

Publishing Organization: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities 

Date Published: January 2020

Number of Pages: 294

URL: https://nj.gov/bpu/pdf/publicnotice/NJBPU_EMP.pdf 

Recording of CESA Webinar: https://www.cesa.org/event/new-jerseys-plan-for-achieving-100-carbon-neutral-electricity/

Report Objective

In May 2018, New Jersey Governor Phil D. Murphy issued Executive Order No. 28, which established a goal for New Jersey to meet 100 percent of its energy demand with renewable energy by 2050, including the power, transportation, and building sectors. This complemented a pre-existing deep decarbonization goal outlined in the state’s Global Warming Response Act of achieving 80 percent emissions reductions by 2050. 

Governor Murphy’s Executive Order directed the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) to develop a state Energy Master Plan (EMP) to provide key strategies for the state to achieve its goal of 100 percent renewable energy for all sectors. The report, 2019 New Jersey Energy Master Plan: Pathway to 2050, was released in January 2020. It defines “100% clean energy by 2050” to mean 100 percent carbon-neutral electricity generation “and maximum electrification of the transportation and building sectors (the sectors that produce the greatest carbon emissions in the state).”

The Plan provides an economic analysis of New Jersey’s 100 percent renewable energy goal based on an integrated energy plan modeling approach. It identifies the least-cost pathway for achieving the goal based on analysis of nine possible scenarios involving a range of technological and policy assumptions. To preserve flexibility, and due to changing cost and technological trends, the EMP is intended to be a living document that is refreshed periodically. 

How the Report Was Produced

NJBPU served as the lead state agency for the report and worked with consultants from RMI and Evolved Energy Research. A large number of state agencies participated in the preparation of the plan, including the Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Department of Transportation, and Economic Development Authority. Stakeholder engagement included two workshops, eight public meetings, and dozens of webinars and conversations with a representative range of stakeholders.

Report’s Organization and Recommendations

The report starts by discussing the context and motivation behind New Jersey’s 100 percent renewable energy goal, then outlines the existing state of New Jersey’s electricity mix, discusses the modeling approach, and proposes strategic technological and policy recommendations for the state to achieve its goal based on a least-cost pathway. The report considers equity impacts and opportunities to engage historically marginalized and environmental justice communities throughout.

To ground the recommendations outlined in the report, an Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) was first developed. Results from the IEP analysis served as input for the development of strategic recommendations proposed in the report. NJBPU and NJDEP, in conjunction with consultants RMI and Evolved Energy Research, developed this IEP through a rigorous analytical process that involved cutting-edge analysis and modeling tools, robust data, scenario-based analysis, and extensive stakeholder feedback. Through the IEP, NJBPU aimed to analyze three key topics: (1) the current state of New Jersey’s energy system, (2) necessary resource mixes and pathways for New Jersey to meet its 2050 renewable energy and emissions reduction goals, and (3) strategies and best practices common to these least-cost pathways. The modeling process consisted of outlining the energy resources needed to match New Jersey's economic growth, identifying the state's current and future energy needs, and optimizing investments based on cost-effectiveness while meeting various policy and equity objectives.

The report evaluates nine scenarios for New Jersey’s potential future energy mix, each with different key assumptions. Of these nine scenarios, two represent “business-as-usual” reference cases that do not satisfy the 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 goal, while the other seven meet the renewable energy and 80 percent emissions reduction by 2050 goal. These seven scenarios differ based on a range of policy- and technology-based considerations, such as reduced progress with transportation or building electrification, less regional cooperation, constrained supply of nuclear or gas, and improved economics of renewable energy and energy storage. The report replicated the modeling analysis for each of these nine scenarios, then identified the most cost-effective one among them. This least-cost scenario then served as the central pathway around which seven strategic recommendations for New Jersey to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 were developed.

These seven key strategies for New Jersey to achieve its 100 percent renewable energy goal are:

1. Reduce energy consumption and emissions from the transportation sector
2. Accelerate deployment of renewable energy and distributed energy resources
3. Maximize energy efficiency and conservation and reduce peak demand
4. Reduce energy consumption and emissions from the building sector
5. Decarbonize and modernize New Jersey’s energy system
6. Support community energy planning and action with an emphasis on encouraging and supporting participation by low- and moderate-income and environmental justice communities
7. Expand the clean energy innovation economy

Each of these seven primary strategies is supported by several sub-strategies, which are further broken down into specific policies, programs, and targets to substantiate the goals. For example, under the transportation sector goal, three specific sub-strategies are proposed: decarbonizing the transportation sector; improving connections between people, jobs, and services; and reducing port and airport emissions. Each sub-strategy then has specific policies and programs; for example, the sub-strategy of reducing port and airport emissions calls for electrifying diesel-powered transportation and equipment, developing a diesel truck buy-out program, and supporting community solar on port property.

Report Key Recommendations and Conclusions

• New Jersey’s goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050 can be achieved by “aggressively deploying existing technologies today and adopting new technologies as they become cost-competitive.” 
• The net benefits of achieving the 100 percent clean energy goal are found to be positive, particularly when factoring in clean air and climate benefits. 
• Further policy measures beyond the status quo will be needed for New Jersey to meet its goal.
• To achieve 100 percent clean energy by 2050 at least cost, New Jersey will need to deploy significantly higher levels of renewable energy while electrifying its transportation and buildings sectors. 
• It will be critical for New Jersey to pursue both in-state investment and regional collaboration to decarbonize in the most cost-effective manner.

Notable Takeaways

Reflecting the broad scope of the report, it was produced with involvement from an unusually large number of state government agencies. At the time it was produced, it was the most comprehensive state plan so far for achieving 100 percent renewable energy for all sectors, not just electricity.

The plan is noteworthy for presenting more than just high-level recommendations but instead dividing each of its strategies into sub-strategies with specific goals and discussions of how the state can move forward to achieve those goals.

The first strategy in the report addresses the largest source of carbon emissions in the state: transportation. New Jersey adopted the California clean cars policy in 2004, and regularly participates in multi-state initiatives on heavy duty vehicles, buses, and other targets. The EMP says that “electrification of the transportation sector is one of the most cost effective ways of meeting New Jersey’s 80x50 carbon emissions reduction target.” Modeling for the report says that “all new passenger vehicle sales should be electric by 2035, and 75 percent of medium-duty vehicles and 50 percent of heavy-duty vehicles should be electrified by 2050.”

New Jersey was an early leader in deploying solar power and still ranks 7th among states, with 3600 MW supplying 6 percent of state demand. In the “least cost” scenario of the EMP, solar is expected to continue to play a large role, complemented with wind located in the broader PJM market. Offshore wind is expected to play a large role after 2040. The state has scheduled six solicitations for offshore wind, with a goal of procuring 7.5 GW of capacity by 2035. The first project, Ørsted’s 1.1 GW Ocean Wind, is expected to come online in 2024. The next award is scheduled to be made in June 2021, for 1.2 GW of capacity.

The figure below shows the energy sources projected to be used for electricity generation from 2020 to 2050.

Nevada’s 2020 State Climate Strategy

Authors: State of Nevada Climate Initiative

Publishing Organization: State of Nevada Climate Initiative

Date Published: January 2021

Number of Pages: 255

URL: https://climateaction.nv.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/NVClimateStrategy_011921.pdf 

Report Objective

In November 2019, Nevada Governor Stephen F. Sisolak issued Executive Order No. 22, which directed state agencies to produce a report establishing a climate strategy for the State of Nevada. This Executive Order built on previous legislative efforts: the Nevada State Legislature in April 2019 passed Senate Bill 358, which committed Nevada to strengthen its renewable portfolio standard for the electricity sector by mandating a target of 50 percent renewable energy by 2030 and establishing a goal for Nevada to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. In March 2019, the state passed Senate Bill 254 (SB 254), which established greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of 28 percent by 2025, 45 percent by 2030, and net-zero emissions by 2050. 

The State of Nevada Climate Initiative (NCI) was launched in the summer of 2020 to analyze Nevada’s greenhouse gas emissions and propose policy recommendations to achieve the emissions reduction goals in SB 254. The resulting report, Nevada’s 2020 State Climate Strategy, was released in January 2021. It seeks to fulfill three main objectives: (1) “provide a framework for reducing Nevada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all economic sectors,” (2) “lay the groundwork for climate adaptation and resilience,” and (3) “establish a structure for continued, ongoing climate action across the state.” 

The report gives an economic- and policy-based analysis of Nevada’s net-zero emissions by 2050 goal. The report covers transportation, electricity, industry, residential and commercial, and land use, and articulates guiding principles for how Nevada can continue to develop and implement climate action strategies for the state while incorporating perspectives from a broad and diverse range of stakeholders. Due to significant technological, economic, and policy uncertainties moving forward, the report emphasizes that it is intended to be regarded as a living document.

How the Report Was Produced

NCI served as the lead state organization for the report and worked with state agencies, including the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Governor's Office of Energy, and ten topical working groups.¹ Working groups were made up of representatives from government, academia, and/or nonprofits. Additional partners included the US Climate Alliance Secretariat, which provided analytical and technical support, and the California-Nevada Climate Applications Program and University of Nevada Extension for further strategic support. Stakeholder engagement consisted of multiple feedback sessions, webinars, focus groups, and surveys incorporating the input of thousands of Nevadan residents. 

1: These working groups were titled (1) climate change in Nevada; (2) climate survey; (3) development, green buildings, and appliance efficiency; (4) energy and power; (5) transportation; (6) land use and natural & working lands; (7) lead by example; (8) greenhouse gas emissions; (9) economic recovery and revitalization; and (10) legal barriers to decarbonization.

Report’s Organization and Modeling Approach

The report starts by discussing the context behind Nevada’s net-zero GHG emissions goal, including an outline of the already visible climate impacts affecting Nevada, the state’s legacy in addressing climate change, and the stakeholder engagement process the state used to develop the report. Next, the report proposes a framework for evaluating policies based on four key metrics: (1) “GHG emissions reduction potential,” (2) “climate justice considerations,” (3) “budgetary and economic implications,” and (4) “implementation feasibility.” Working groups color-coded each metric to indicate their certainty about  the “outcomes expected should the policy be adopted.” This will help guide further research and discussion.

 The report then draws from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) 2019 GHG inventory, which includes a catalog of policy options to cut statewide GHG emissions, as required by SB 254. Much of the report consists of discussion of these policies, based on the previously mentioned four metrics framework and color-coded for the certainty of the expected outcome. Lastly, the report articulates strategies for how Nevada can continue to collect and analyze GHG emissions data to assess progress towards achieving its net-zero emissions goal, and it discusses the constraints and tradeoffs that Nevada will continue to consider when implementing climate action strategies.  

The report itself does not provide significant quantitative analysis of the report’s proposed strategic recommendations. Instead, the report could be considered, in part, a scoping analysis to outline the degree of certainty for each of the proposed strategies and identify areas of further study.

Report Key Recommendations and Conclusions

The report ultimately proposes key strategies for five sectors (transportation, electricity, industry, residential and commercial, and land use) and provides a color-coded assessment of the certainty of the outcome of each of these proposed strategies. The strategies considered for these sectors are:

• Transportation
  • Adopt low- and zero-emissions vehicle standards
  • Implement clean truck program
  • Adopt low-carbon fuel standards
  • Implement state car allowance rebate system
  • Close emissions inspection loopholes for classic cars license plates
• Electricity
  • Transition from fossil-fueled electricity generation to clean energy sources
  • Require GHG reduction plans and prioritize decarbonization in utility integrated resource plans
  • Prioritize energy efficiency and demand response programs
• Industry
  • Replace, capture, and recycle ozone-depleting substance substitutes
• Residential and Commercial
  • Adopt appliance and equipment efficiency standards
  • Implement a statewide benchmarking program
  • Require residential energy labeling and energy audits
  • Adopt energy codes for net-zero buildings
  • Expand the property-assessed clean energy program
  • Expand energy savings performance contracting
  • Transition from residential and commercial use of gas
• Land Use
  • Expand urban forestry programs

Notable Takeaways

Nevada’s approach to developing a climate strategy is somewhat different from other states in that it is starting out with a scoping analysis and a review of experience from other states.  Other states often hire technical consultants to model potential outcomes of policies, with stakeholders using the technical analysis to inform their deliberations.

The report is envisioned to be a living document that will continue to be applied by the Nevada Climate Initiative’s working groups. It sets the stage for future reports and analysis that will incorporate new information and policy evaluations.  

More than with most other state reports, this one gives significant attention to describing climate impacts, both those that are already affecting the state and projected future impacts. It also shows the uncertainties in the understanding of present and future impacts.

Scoping Plan: Full Report

Author: New York State Climate Action Council

Publishing Organization: New York State Climate Action Council

Date Published: December 2022

Number of Pages: 445

URL: https://climate.ny.gov/-/media/project/climate/files/NYS-Climate-Action-Council-Final-Scoping-Plan-2022.pdf

Report Objective

In July 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) into law, establishing a commitment for the state to achieve 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 and economy-wide, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This goal strengthened New York’s prior commitment to achieve 50% renewable electricity by 2030 under its previous Clean Energy Standard. 

The New York State Climate Action Council, formed as a result of the CLCPA, was assigned responsibility for creating a scoping plan to determine how the state would achieve its goals. This New York Scoping Plan was released in December 2022. 

The scoping plan provides a robust set of principles, policies, and strategies across multiple sectors and jurisdictions. It proposes dozens of strategies for each of these sectors, including a discussion of key considerations and relevant stakeholders, in addition to economy-wide recommendations. The plan also places significant emphasis on equity and environmental justice considerations. In particular, it defines disadvantaged communities, establishes a requirement of directing at least 35% of benefits of clean energy and energy efficiency investments towards these communities, and proposes a series of sector-specific solutions to advance climate justice while ensuring policies do not disproportionately burden disadvantaged communities. The plan also proposes a cap-and-invest program that places a declining limit on economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions, with a focus on ensuring that program benefits and revenues flow towards disadvantaged communities. 

How the Report Was Produced

The New York State Climate Action Council served as the lead state body for the report, in collaboration with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). It worked with the state’s Climate Justice Working Group, the Just Transition Working Group, and several advisory panels, which provided analytical and advisory support, to develop the scoping plan. Stakeholder engagement consisted of a six-month public comment period, which included 11 statewide public hearings and 35,000 written comments. 

Report’s Organization and Modeling Approach

The scoping plan starts by discussing the context and motivation behind New York’s commitments to 100% carbon-free electricity and economy-wide, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. It also summarizes past and present state climate actions. It then provides an overview of guiding principles and objectives informing the scoping plan, including climate justice, just transition, and public health considerations, before outlining the analytical and modeling framework, key results from cost-benefit assessments and other analyses, and sector-specific and economy-wide climate action strategies. The plan emphasizes a need for disadvantaged communities to benefit from proposed strategies and investments throughout. 

The scoping plan includes an integrative analysis built within the New York Pathways model, which is a “multi-modal framework” that models New York’s greenhouse gas emissions across multiple sectors based on several analyses, aimed at developing and analyzing different decarbonization scenarios. The plan includes results of this analysis, which illustrate the benefits and costs associated with different emissions reduction pathways. The integrative analysis examined the necessary timelines and technologies for New York to achieve its 100% carbon-free electricity and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals. It uses the state Advisory Panel’s recommendations, which are insufficient to meet the state’s goals, as a baseline, and then considers additional scenarios involving “strategic use of low-carbon fuels,”1 “accelerated transition away from combustion,”2 and efforts to move “beyond 85% reduction.”3 These scenarios revealed common decarbonization themes regarding strategies, resulting in varying reliance on certain technologies. Lastly, the integrative analysis quantifies benefits associated with the value of avoided greenhouse gas emissions and health co-benefits. Further details are included in the Integration Analysis Technical Supplement. 

The scoping plan provides detailed recommendations on actions the state can take to reduce emissions across several sectors, including transportation, buildings, electricity, industry, agriculture and forestry, and waste. There are also economy-wide, cross-sectoral strategies, including transition of the gas system, land use considerations, local government policies, and adaptation and resilience measures. For each of these sectors and additional strategies, the report includes an overview of the state’s current progress with climate action, its proposed vision for 2050, key stakeholders involved, and key sector-specific strategies and sub-strategies. 

The sector-specific and cross-sector recommendations are organized in the report into themes, which identify strategies for programs, policies, and investment, as follows:  

• Transportation 
  • Transition to zero-emission vehicles and equipment. 
  • Enhance public transportation and mobility alternatives. 
  • Promote smart growth and mobility-oriented development. 
  • Facilitate market-based solutions and financing. 
• Buildings 
  • Adopt zero-emission codes and standards and require energy benchmarking for buildings. 
  • Scale up public financial incentives and expand access to public and private low-cost financing for building decarbonization. 
  • Expand New York’s commitment to market development, innovation, and leading by example in state projects. 
  • Transition from hydrofluorocarbons. 
• Electricity 
  • Transform power generation. 
  • Enhance the grid. 
  • Invest in new technology. 
• Industry 
  • Provide financial and technical assistance. 
  • Incentivize procurement for low-carbon products. 
  • Support workforce development. 
  • Facilitate research, development, and demonstration. 
  • Establish GHG emissions registry and reporting system. 
• Agriculture and Forestry 
  • Promote sustainable forest management. 
  • Address livestock management strategies. 
  • Improve soil health, nutrient management, and agroforestry. 
  • Promote a climate-focused bioeconomy. 
• Waste 
  • Reduce, reuse, and recycle waste. 
  • Monitor, detect, and reduce fugitive emissions. 
  • Establish markets for recovered resources and biogas utilization. 
• Land Use 
  • Protect, restore, and monitor natural and working lands. 
  • Consider forests and farmland in land use policies. 
  • Promote smart growth. 
• Local Government 
  • Establish statewide dashboard of community GHG emission inventories. 
  • Develop local energy policies. 
  • Provide clean energy siting support. 
  • Promote municipal leadership to support clean energy adoption. 
  • Provide state support and local guidance. 
• Adaptation and Resilience 
  • Build capacity. 
  • Enhance community and infrastructure resilience. 
  • Enhance resilience of living systems. 

Additionally, the report identifies guiding themes for strategies associated with its three overarching pillars of climate justice, just transition, and public health. 

For climate justice, the guiding themes include efforts to: “ensure processes are inclusive,” “streamline program access,” and “address emerging issues.” 

The just transition pillar includes the following principles: “stakeholder-engaged transition planning;” “collaborative planning for a measured transition toward long-term goals;” “preservation of culture and tradition;” “realize vibrant, healthy communities through repair of structural inequalities;” “equitable access to high quality, family-sustaining jobs;” “redevelopment of industrial communities;” “development of robust in-state low-carbon energy and manufacturing supply chain;” “climate adaptation planning and investment for a resilient future;” “protection and restoration of natural and working lands systems and resources;” “mutually-affirming targets for state industrialization and decarbonization.” 

The guiding themes for public health are the following: focusing on “addressing social determinants of health and reducing health disparities,” incorporating a “Health Across All Policies” approach, emphasizing “healthy aging across the lifespan,” promoting “community engagement and collaboration across sectors in the development and implementation of local plans,” maximizing “impact with evidence-based interventions for State and local action,” advocating for “increased investments in prevention from all sources,” and concentrating on “primary and secondary prevention” rather than on “health care design or reimbursement.” 

Report Key Recommendations and Conclusions

The integrative modeling analysis of the report and associated cost-benefit analyses led to several key findings:  

• The state’s goal of economy-wide, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is feasible but will require significant action across every sector of the state’s economy. 
• Energy efficiency and end-use electrification are critical to any viable decarbonization pathway for the state, which will require buy-in from consumers and communities. 
• The bulk of New York’s electricity in 2050 will be generated using “wind, water, and sunlight” resources, but low-carbon fuels including bioenergy and hydrogen may play a role particularly in difficult-to-electrify sectors. Carbon sequestration through natural resources and negative emissions technologies may also play an important role in full decarbonization. 
• Additional strategies will be required, including transitioning to less emissions-intensive refrigerants, increased access to public transportation, mitigation of methane emissions, and research and development, as well as solutions in landfills, aviation, and animal feed. 
• Net benefits of the plan are projected to be $115 billion to $130 billion. Combined benefits range from $400 billion to $415 billion. The direct costs will represent a small fraction of the state’s economic output, ranging from 0.5% of state GDP in 2030 to 1.3% in 2050. These costs will be further mitigated by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The cost of inaction would exceed the cost of action by over $115 billion. 
• New York’s transition to a clean energy economy will produce important “kitchen-table” benefits for New Yorkers, including “stronger and more resilient energy systems;” “clean, affordable, reliable transportation;” “clean and safe energy-efficient homes and businesses;” “clean and reliable electric power;” “better energy choices;” “high-quality jobs;” “better health;” and “an equitable clean energy economy for everyone.” 

Notable Takeaways

• The scoping plan places significant emphasis on environmental justice. It calls for directing significant investment and technical support to disadvantaged communities, which the state defines as “communities that bear burdens of negative public health effects, environmental pollution, impacts of climate change, and possess certain socioeconomic criteria, or compose high concentration of low- and moderate-income households.” The plan provides a thorough and comprehensive approach to incorporating equity into its proposed strategies. 
• The scoping plan provides guidance around New York’s nation-leading commitment to ensuring that at least 35%, and a target of 40%, of benefits of clean energy and energy efficiency investments flow to disadvantaged communities. This commitment aligns New York with the Biden Administration’s Justice40 initiative. 
• The plan proposes an innovative cap-and-invest strategy that builds on the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) by taking a comprehensive economy-wide approach that incorporates justice and equity. 
• The scoping plan is distinctive among similar state 100% clean energy planning reports in its consideration of decarbonization strategies for waste and its discussion of strategies to transition away from hydrofluorocarbons towards less emissions-intensive refrigerants. 
• New York’s clean energy strategy benefits from robust state and quasi-state agencies and organizations, including NYSERDA and the New York Green Bank. These organizations serve as compelling models for other states. 
• Unlike most states’ plans, this one considers monitoring and enforcement measures, including air quality monitoring systems and statewide greenhouse gas emissions inventories for local governments.  
• The plan discusses the potential use of low-carbon fuels as alternatives in difficult-to-electrify sectors, leaving the door open for green hydrogen and bioenergy technologies. The plan also keeps open the option of carbon capture, utilization, and storage and carbon removal technologies, in addition to natural carbon sequestration solutions. 

The Road to 100% Renewable Electricity by 2030 in Rhode Island

Authors: Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources and The Brattle Group

Publishing Organization: Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources and The Brattle Group

Date Published: December 2020

Number of Pages: 99

URL: http://www.energy.ri.gov/documents/renewable/The%20Road%20to%20100%20Percent%20Renewable%20Electricity%20-%20Brattle%2004Feb2021.pdf 

Recording of CESA Webinar: https://www.cesa.org/event/state-plans-for-100-clean-energy-california-rhode-island/

Report Objective

In January 2020, Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo issued Executive Order 20-01, which established a goal for Rhode Island to meet 100 percent of its electricity demand with renewable energy by 2030. This complemented a pre-existing deep decarbonization goal of achieving 80 percent emissions reductions by 2050. The commitment to transition entirely to renewable energy within a decade is the quickest timeline to reach 100 percent renewable electricity of any US state. 

Governor Raimondo’s Executive Order directed the Office of Energy Resources to develop strategic pathways for the state to achieve its 100 percent renewable electricity goal. The resulting report, The Road to 100% Renewable Electricity by 2030 in Rhode Island, was released in December 2020. It provides an economic analysis of Rhode Island’s 100 percent renewable electricity goal and evaluates a range of technologies along dimensions of “feasibility, scalability, costs, generation patterns, market value, and local economic and employment impacts” as well as related opportunities and barriers to implementation. The report also analyzes plans, policies, and programs for Rhode Island to meet its goal. Lastly, the report incorporates analysis of local economic impacts and equity considerations. It is presented through the lens of guiding principles along three dimensions: 

• Decarbonization: exemplify climate leadership, create incremental power sector decarbonization, and facilitate broader decarbonization
• Economic: “pursue cost effective solutions,” “improve energy and environmental equity,” and “create economic development opportunities”
• Policy Implementation: “ensure solutions are robust and sustainable beyond 2030,” “build on Rhode Island’s existing renewable energy mechanisms,” and “be consistent with other Rhode Island priorities and policies”

How the Report Was Produced

The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER) served as the lead state agency for the report and worked with consultants from The Brattle Group. Other state agencies involved included the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers and the Department of Environmental Management. Stakeholder engagement included three public technical workshops and three community listening sessions to exchange information and solicit feedback. OER then established definitions, benchmarked existing progress, projected future energy demand, analyzed the remaining gap, identified key energy technologies, estimated costs and other economic impacts, defined technology portfolios, summarized insights, and developed policy and program recommendations.

Organization of Report

The report starts by discussing the context and motivation behind Rhode Island’s nation-leading 100 percent renewable electricity goal, before outlining stakeholder engagement processes and guiding principles for the analysis; analyzing technological and policy pathways to reach 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030; and outlining policy, planning, and equity recommendations for achieving the goal. 

Report Key Recommendations and Conclusions

• Rhode Island’s goal of 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030 is feasible.
• Achieving this goal will increase energy costs for ratepayers, but can achieve net positive economic benefits for Rhode Island, particularly if there is prioritization of development of in-state renewable energy resources.
• Rhode Island can use existing regional grid operations, power markets, and renewable energy credit (REC) markets to pursue its goal.
• Rhode Island must carefully consider the nature of the RECs it purchases and infrastructure investments it makes to ensure additionality and cost-effectiveness. Consequently, Rhode Island should limit its reliance on short-term REC purchases, even if that is the least-cost option.
• Wind and solar resources, particularly offshore wind, are projected to play the predominant role in achieving Rhode Island’s 100 percent renewable energy goal.
• Different renewable energy resources introduce different tradeoffs, including affordability, scalability, local economic impact, and equity outcomes. 
• Rhode Island should consider additional regional opportunities and impacts, such as collaboration with other New England states.
• Flexibility matters: technologies and policies will change over time.
• Key policy recommendations include legislation to revise Rhode Island’s current renewable energy standard to require 100% renewable electricity by 2030, investing in energy efficiency and demand response, and developing market-driven approaches and policies (including net metering) to support renewable energy.
• Key planning recommendations include strengthening grid planning and modernization efforts, transforming power sector incentives and structures, investing in energy storage and demand management, and collaborating with regional players on markets and transmission infrastructure.
• Key equity recommendations include forming partnerships to support frontline and marginalized communities, establishing critical equity metrics, and improving community-determined outcomes.

Notable Takeaways

In energy terms, Rhode Island is among the smallest of states, ranking 47th in electricity generation, 48th in electricity sales, and last in per capita energy consumption. Rhode Island consumes less electricity than Washington, DC.

As such, it is deeply embedded and dependent on the broader New England power system and the policies of its neighbors. The state plans to rely on offshore wind for much of its 100 percent renewable target, and is currently in procurement mode. But Rhode Island will have to rely on the New England grid and market to integrate offshore wind, even as other neighboring states pursue similar offshore wind procurements. 

The Road to 100% report highlights the need for regional coordination. A number of parties in the region have felt that the regional grid operator, ISO New England, has been an impediment to cleaner power supplies. Former Governor Raimondo and four other governors, working through the New England States Committee on Electricity (NESCOE), called for reforms to make ISO New England “a regional electricity system operator and planner that is a committed partner in our decarbonization efforts.”

The inherently regional nature of Rhode Island’s economy also raises questions about the ability of policymakers to capture in-state economic development.  The Brattle Group analysis found that customer-owned “retail solar” is the highest cost resource but also delivers the largest boost to state GDP, due to the large amount of in-state labor and investment it generates. The report suggests that a mix of mostly wind with about 30 percent solar might be optimal, though recommends a market-based procurement strategy.

Even for a small state like Rhode Island with a good head start towards decarbonizing the electricity supply, the path forward will not be easy. The Road to 100% report does a good job of highlighting the key tradeoffs that policymakers will need to consider in terms of costs, in-state benefits, public acceptance, and likelihood of success. The report presents its guiding principles, findings, and recommendation in a clear, straight-forward way that other states could emulate when producing plans for decarbonizing their electricity supply.

The figure below shows the gap between Rhode Island's existing renewable electricity generation and future growth needed to reach its 2030 goal.

Washington 2021 State Energy Strategy: Transitioning to an Equitable Clean Energy Future

Author: Washington State Department of Commerce

Publishing Organization: Washington State Department of Commerce

Date Published: December 2020

Number of Pages: 140

URL: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Washington-2021-State-Energy-Strategy-December-2020.pdf

Report Objective

In April 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed SB 5116 into law, which established a requirement for Washington to supply 100 percent of its electricity sales with renewable or non-emitting energy by 2045, including a phaseout of coal resources by 2025 and a requirement for all electricity sales to be carbon-neutral by 2030.. It also directed the Washington Department of Commerce (Commerce) to prepare a State Energy Strategy, which was previously updated in 2012, and incorporate the state’s new climate and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. The law defines a successful state energy strategy as one that advances three primary objectives: (1) “Maintaining competitive energy prices that are fair and reasonable for consumers and businesses and support our state’s continued economic success,” (2) “Increasing competitiveness by fostering a clean energy economy and jobs through business and workforce development,” and (3) “Meeting the state’s obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” The Commerce report, Washington 2021 State Energy Strategy: Transitioning to an Equitable Clean Energy Future, was released in December 2020.

The State Energy Strategy offers recommendations, including specific policies, programs, investments, and technologies, to support Washington’s emissions limits and 100 percent clean electricity requirements. It considers various decarbonization pathways and identifies the least-cost pathway for achieving the goal based on a range of technological and policy assumptions.

How the Report Was Produced

Commerce, which includes the State Energy Office, worked closely with the staff of Governor Jay Inslee and several other state agencies, including the Departments of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife; Natural Resources; and Transportation; as well as the UTC, the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, and the Washington State University Energy Program. A 27-member advisory committee consisting of state legislators, other government officials, private sector representatives, and advocates provided input. A technical advisory committee consisting of a range of subject matter experts across the public and private sectors was also included. Stakeholder engagement included public comment and hearing opportunities, both in person and online.

Commerce engaged the Clean Energy Transition Institute, a Seattle-based nonprofit, to coordinate the work of energy modeling, building science, equity, policy, and communication experts. Ross & Associates organized and facilitated the advisory committee process.

Report’s Organization and Recommendations

The report starts by discussing the context and motivation behind a state goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, then turns to the key sectors considered in development of the state’s “deep decarbonization pathway” framework analysis. An outline of the key recommendations for further climate actions the state should take is presented alongside supporting analysis. The report prominently centers equity impacts and solutions throughout.

The report first identifies seven crosscutting issues that will affect multiple sectors of the Washington state economy, which include:

1. Increased resources for planning, data analysis and outreach
2. Role of investment in an equitable and inclusive transition
3. Universal broadband access as a foundation for energy transition
4. Transition of the fossil natural gas industry
5. Valuable role of comprehensive pricing mechanisms
6. Benefits of research, development, and early deployment
7. Development of green hydrogen and clean fuels

The report presents 16 key actions affecting communities, transportation, buildings, industry, and electricity, then proposes the following strategies, each of which includes further sub-sections and specific policies, programs, and targets associated with each sub-strategy:

• Build an Equitable, Inclusive, Resilient Clean Energy Economy
  • Recognize that No Single Definition of Equity May be Satisfactory
  • Break from Historical Patterns and Narratives
  • Ensure Public Participation and Inclusion of Historically Marginalized Voices
  • Prioritize Energy Resiliency as Part of Energy Policy and Planning
  • Embed Equity in the Design of Clean Energy Policies and Programs
• Achieve the State’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Limits
  • Washington State Emissions
  • Pathways to Decarbonization
  • Modeling Implications for Washington’s Energy Policy
• Use Energy More Efficiently and Decarbonize Transportation Energy
  • Move People and Goods More Efficiently and Equitably
  • Electrify Vehicles and Switch to Low-Carbon Fuels
• Reduce Energy Consumption and Emissions in the Built Environment
  • Establish a Building Decarbonization Policy Framework
  • Maximize Energy Efficiency and Electrification in Buildings
  • Develop Plans for the Long-Term Transition of the Natural Gas Distribution System
• Industrial Transformation and Workforce Development
  • Build a Dataset and Technologies to Decarbonize the Industrial Sector
  • Establish a Technology-Neutral Regulatory Framework
  • Develop and Implement a Coordinated Clean Energy Industrial Policy
  • Support Clean Energy Research, Innovation and Deployment
  • Expand Policies to Consider Consumption-Based Emissions
  • Leverage the Economy Transition to Create New Inclusive, Living-Wage Jobs
• 100% Clean Electricity to Meet the Needs of a Decarbonized Economy
  • Accelerate Investment in Renewable Generating Resources and Transmission
  • Build a Smart and Flexible Grid
  • Facilitate Community Deployment of Renewable Generation Resources and Grid Services

The proposed recommendations are grounded in part on modeling analysis by consulting firm Evolved Energy Research. The analysis presents a “business-as-usual” reference case that assumes no emissions targets. It then evaluates five decarbonization scenarios with a range of policies and technologies, such as an accelerated shift towards electrification, an emphasis on decarbonizing transport fuels, a continuation of the use of gas in buildings, constrained energy and transmission resources and infrastructure, and behavioral changes.

The analysts used the EnergyPATHWAYS and RIO modeling system to identify the least-cost option for meeting the 2050 target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. The results of this modeling exercise inform key conclusions and action items across the state’s key sectors of transportation, buildings, electricity, and industry, including a discussion of the key implications for state energy policy for each of these sectors.

The State Energy Strategy is distinctive in the degree to which it incorporates and evaluates equity-related outcomes and solutions. It articulates a thorough definition of equity, outlines components of meaningful participation in public processes from historically underrepresented and marginalized communities, and identifies three key dimensions of environmental justice (procedural, distributional, and structural). The report also defines a seven-step process for fundamentally incorporating equity into designing clean energy and climate policies:

1. Ensure equitable access to economic benefits and opportunity by empowering communities.
2. Ensure universal and equitable access to affordable remote service options.
3. Center program design on reduction of energy cost burdens.
4. Incorporate health disparity metrics into energy planning.
5. Increase resilience and energy sovereignty for Tribes and energy independence for vulnerable communities.
6. Address procedural inequities in program design and prioritize equitable development.
7. Address nexus issues of affordable housing, livable communities and displacement in energy policy.

For each of those seven steps, there is a set of specific proposed actions for Washington to take.

Report Key Recommendations and Conclusions

• The state can make the transition to clean energy while maintaining a strong, vibrant economy. Specifically, there is a portfolio of actions that Washington can take that successfully balances three goals that align with state law: (1) “maintaining competitive energy prices that are fair and reasonable for consumers and businesses and support our state's continued economic success,” (2) “increasing competitiveness by fostering a clean energy economy and jobs through business and workforce development,” and (3) “meeting the state's obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
• Advancing equity must remain a central component of Washington’s climate solutions. Decarbonization pathways offer Washington the opportunity to address inequities and advance positive climate, health, and economic benefits, including improved health outcomes, greater affordability of basic essentials for residents, a diversified and growing economy, and greater resilience in physical infrastructure.
• Stakeholder engagement will need to continue to remain a top priority for the state in establishing and implementing its climate strategies moving forward, and further “technical, financial, and human resources” will be needed to support this effort. More broadly, there needs to be a greater degree of alignment and coordination across and within the public and private sectors through a “whole-system” approach, to ensure a unified effort to decarbonize.
• The state intends to focus on five key domains — (1) communities, (2) transportation, (3) buildings, (4) industry, (5) electricity — with targeted solutions in each to accelerate climate action.

Notable Takeaways

The Washington strategy places considerable emphasis on cross-cutting strategies that hold promise for impacting multiple sectors. These strategies include increasing resources for research, data analysis, and outreach, and increasing initial investment in equipment and infrastructure.

The strategy examines multiple aspects of equity, going beyond the typical intersection of energy and climate with poverty, race, and environmental injustice. The strategy, for example, proposes that energy policy incorporate universal access to broadband and promote healthy and affordable housing.

It argues that broadband is necessary to operate the smart grid of the future, such as smart appliances performing demand response, and to allow low-income and rural workers to do online work, which cuts carbon emissions by eliminating commuting to a job.

Washington State has already incorporated public health into residential efficiency programs, such as the Weatherization Plus Health program. The climate strategy suggests an expansion of that approach “to reduce energy burden and improve health outcomes for low-income households impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

State of Wisconsin Clean Energy Plan

Authors: Wisconsin Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy, Great Plains Institute, and Slipstream, Inc.
Publishing Organization: Wisconsin Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy
Date Published: April 2022
Number of Pages: 177
URL: https://osce.wi.gov/Documents/SOW-CleanEnergyPlan2022.pdf

Report Objective

In August 2019, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers issued Executive Order No. 38, which established a goal for Wisconsin to meet 100 percent of its electricity consumption with carbon-free electricity by 2050. Governor Evers’ Executive Order also created the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy (OSCE) under the Department of Administration, which was charged with developing a Clean Energy Plan to achieve its decarbonization goals.

The OSCE developed a report, State of Wisconsin Clean Energy Plan, which was released in April 2022. The Plan outlines a series of paths and strategies for Wisconsin to achieve its 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050 goal. The report identifies seven primary objectives: (1) achieve 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050, (2) align Wisconsin with the goals of the Paris Agreement, (3) reduce the disproportionate impacts of energy generation and consumption on low-income communities and communities of color, (4) maximize equitable opportunities for jobs and economic development associated with clean energy, (5) enhance reliability and affordability of the energy system, (6) strengthen the clean energy workforce with training and education efforts, and (7) protect human and environmental health through reduced pollution.

The Plan notes that it is intentionally limited in scope and excludes discussion of strategies for non-energy greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, carbon sequestration, and adaptation, which fall outside of the Clean Energy Plan. In October 2019, Governor Evers established the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change to assist the state in developing a comprehensive climate action strategy that will address non-energy strategies.

How the Report Was Produced

OSCE served as the lead state agency for the report and worked with consultants from the Great Plains Institute and Slipstream, Inc. Several external organizations provided technical assistance, including the Just Transition Fund, Center for Energy and Environment, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, RMI, Focus on Energy, and ZEF Energy. Stakeholder engagement included public listening sessions, statewide events, and online written comments.

Report’s Organization and Modeling Approach

The report starts by outlining the context and motivation behind Wisconsin’s climate goals, discusses the purpose and process of developing the plan, then provides an overview of Wisconsin’s state emissions profile and the costs of inaction. The report then proposes a range of pathways and strategies to achieve the state’s 100 percent carbon-free electricity goal. Lastly, the report provides a framework outlining next steps. Equity and environmental justice considerations are embedded throughout the report.

To quantify the potential impacts associated with implementation of the Clean Energy Plan, a modeling analysis was conducted. To inform the modeling effort, OSCE used three tools: the Energy Policy Simulator from RMI and Energy Innovation; the JuiceBox software from Meier Engineering Research; and the US Environmental Protection Agency's CO-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) tool. The high-level results of the modeling analysis did not feature prominently in all parts of the report, although some individual proposed sub-strategies were accompanied by figures outlining forecasted economic and environmental impacts.

The report outlined four key strategic pathways and three additional “inclusive transition” considerations. Each of these pathways was accompanied by additional sub-strategies, which are broken down into two primary categories, including “immediate action” sub-strategies ¹ and “high-impact” strategies ² , in addition to a third separate category of “future” sub-strategies ³ .

Implementation of the Clean Energy Plan will be documented and monitored with a website with public updates and feedback opportunities, measurement and verification, and annual reports.

Report Key Recommendations

The Plan identifies four key strategic pathways for Wisconsin to advance towards its 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050 goals, which collectively include 71 immediate action sub-strategies and 16 high-impact sub-strategies. These four pathways are:

• Accelerate clean energy technology deployment
• Maximize energy efficiency
• Modernize buildings and industry
• Innovate transportation

It then proposes additional ways in which Wisconsin can ensure an “inclusive transition” through implementation of the Clean Energy Plan:

• Prioritizing health equity, environmental justice, and equitable economic development
• Fast-tracking workforce development and a just transition
• Accelerating government efforts (lead by example)

Report’s Key Conclusions

• Full implementation of the Clean Energy Plan would result in significant economic benefits, including the creation of 40,000 new jobs by 2030, reduced energy bills, and more money kept in-state through reduced dependence on energy imports and greater energy independence.
• Implementation of the Clean Energy Plan goals and strategies will require significant partnerships with a range of internal and external stakeholders, including at the federal, state, and local levels.
• Energy efficiency remains an especially important component of Wisconsin’s power sector decarbonization strategy moving forward, particularly given Wisconsin’s history as a national leader in energy efficiency through its Focus on Energy program.
• Wisconsin should consider updating its interim climate and decarbonization commitments to ensure that sufficient progress is being made to achieve the state’s long-term goals.
• Standards, grants, and other policies and incentives are instrumental in Wisconsin’s clean energy strategy.
• Wisconsin can achieve its clean energy goals primarily with existing technologies, rather than relying on future innovations in advanced energy technologies.

Notable Takeaways

This Clean Energy Plan can be considered a companion to a previous Climate Action Plan, developed in response to 2019’s Executive Order #52 to “meaningfully mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.”

Agriculture is the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Wisconsin, growing 21% from 2005 to 2019, even as other major categories fell. The Clean Energy Plan discusses only the energy emissions from agriculture and not other agriculture-related emissions.

The Wisconsin Plan uses different models than some other states. While other states focused on detailed power sector models (such as capacity expansion and production cost models), the Wisconsin Plan used three models that provide a broader overview of the energy sector. EPA’s COBRA model, for example, quantifies emission reductions and estimates a dollar value of the health benefits.

A limitation of the Plan is that the impact of individual recommended actions is not quantified, such as on emissions, costs, benefits, investments, or jobs, making it difficult to prioritize actions. Discussion of methodology and detailed results are not publicly available on the websites of the OSCE or contractors.

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(1) Immediate action strategies can be “integrated into a workplan to commence near-term.”

(2) High impact strategies can be those “that will result in the greatest GHG reductions, may be implemented over a longer period, and may be informed by the immediate action strategies.”

(3) Future strategies are “important to cite but do not fall into either the high-impact or immediate designations.”