. |
Seeds for Change Wellness
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Reducing Heat-Trapping Emissions in the Northeast
Reducing Heat-Trapping Emissions in the Northeast
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists
Global warming is under way and poised to have a substantial impact on the Northeast—a nine-
state region extending from Maine to New Jersey. Some climate changes are now unavoidable,
but the extent of these changes and the specific effects they have on our region depend largely on
the emissions choicewe make today—in the Northeast and worldwide.
While actions to reduce emissions in the Northeast alone will not stem global warming, the region is
a global leader in technology, policy, finance, and innovation, and a major source of emissions of
carbon dioxide, the most important heattrapping gas. Thus, the Northeast is well positioned to be a
technology and policy leader in reducing these emissions, and can drive the national and
international progress essential to providing our children and grandchildren with a healthy
future climate.
The Northeast, which accounted for 13.6 percent of the United States’ energy related carbon
dioxide emissions in 2001, represents the world’s seventh largest source of such emissions when
compared with entire nations. The transportation sector is the Northeast’s largest emissions source
(35 percent), followed by the electric power sector (30 percent), buildings (22 percent), and industry
(13 percent).
To the Northeast’s credit, it has been one of this country’s leading innovators in early efforts to
reduce heat-trapping emissions. Examples of the region’s leadership include:
• The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the first U.S. multistate cap on carbon
emissions, which will require the electric power sector to decrease its emissions 10 percent below
current levels by 2019.
• Many state-level actions including policies to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy,
clean cars, climate action plans, and efforts to reduce emissions from state government.
• Emissions reduction strategies being implemented by many municipalities,corporations, and
universities.
In 2001, the New England Governors and the Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP) adopted a
long-term goal of reducing regional heat-trapping emissions 75 to 85 percent below then-current
levels.
If the Northeast and the industrialized world follow such a pathway, and developing nations follow a
relatively low emissions pathway as well, the world will be on track to avoid the more severe
consequences of climate change.
Key Opportunities
A lower-emissions pathway could combine high economic growth with a shift toward less fossil fuel-
intensive power production and the introduction of clean and resource-efficient buildings and
technologies. Reductions in heat-trapping emissions of just three percent per year on average
would enable the Northeast to meet the NEG/ECP goal by mid-century.
A rich array of options is available to the Northeast to help us pursue a low emissions pathway and
continue our leadership in policy and technology innovation. Examples in the key carbon-emitting
sectors include:
Transportation
Cost-effective technologies available today—such as better transmissions, improved tires and
aerodynamics, and stronger but lighter frames—could reduce emissions by roughly one-third over
the next decade and save consumers money at the pump. Gasoline -electric hybrids could
eliminate more than half of the heat-trapping emissions from light-duty vehicles. Policies could
encourage reductions in the total number of miles people drive and low -carbon alternatives to
petroleum could ultimately eliminate transportation as a major source of heat-trapping emissions.
Electric Power
More efficient lighting and other technologies could cost-effectively offset the Northeast's projected
growth in electricity demand over the next decade. Widely available wind energy and other
renewable resources, clean distributed small-scale energy systems and combined heat and power
could then displace a significant amount of current fossil fuel generation. For example, wind has
the technical potential to satisfy about half of our annual energy consumption in the Northeast, and
the potential for offshore wind appears even greater.
Buildings
Energy-efficient design of walls, windows, roofs heating and cooling systems, and lighting and
appliances would also help reduce emissions while saving on energy costs.
Industry
Innovative new energy-efficient plant design combined with new low-emssions technologies would
make a major contribution to this effort.
Recommended Actions
A combination of policies, programs, and individual actions can put the Northeast on the pathway to
a three percent average reduction in annual emissions. Policy makers at all levels of government
must put appropriate policies in place and implement them fully, provide incentives that will drive
markets, and support innovation. Government, industry, and academia can lead by example,
raising public awareness of the consequences of climate change and the availability of feasible
solutions. Individuals can act through their purchasing decisions, lifestyle choices, and the political
pressure they can bring to bear on elected officials. Promising actions in the key carbon-emitting
sectors include:
Transportation
States can encourage sales of low-emissions vehicles through emissions standards for
heattrapping gases, sales and excise taxes, carbon-based vehicle fees, alternative-fuel policies,
and policies to reduce urban sprawl and expand public transportation. Institutions and individuals
can buy more fuel-efficient vehicles and save money. Reducing the average miles driven can be
achieved through improved public transportation, telecommuting, smart growth development, and
similar strategies.
Electric Power
States can implement a strong mandatory “cap-and-trade” program for carbon emissions (such as
RGGI) that also lowers costs for consumers by incorporating energy efficiency, renewable energy
development, and combined heat and power. States can also adopt and strengthen efficiency and
renewable energy standards and purchasing practices, and work toward full implementation of
existing policies. Institutions and individuals can purchase efficient compact fluorescent lighting and
Energy Star appliances, and choose renewable power options from their electricity supplier.
Buildings
States can substantially improve building energy codes and adopt policies that foster low-emissions
purchasing and renovation decisions. For example, applying Energy Star standards to new
construction and renovations would reduce emissions for each building 20 to 30 percent, with little
or no extra cost. Much greater reductions are technically and economically feasible. States,
cities, and institutions can all set an example of high-efficiency, low-emissions building design and
renovation. Tax benefits can encourage individuals to add insulation, upgrade heating and cooling
systems, and replace inefficient lighting and appliances to reduce their bills as well as their heat-
trapping emissions.
Industry
State tax and regulatory incentives can encourage industry to use renewable energy and combined
heat and power, and to continuously increase production efficiency. One key to a low-emissions
pathway lies in forward-thinking personal and institutional choices. We need not be “pennywise
and pound foolish” when it comes to energy decisions. Each time we purchase equipment,
vehicles, or buildings we contribute to our long-term emissions and energy costs. A true
transformation of our economy and infrastructure to a lower emissions future will require that we
make wise energy choices.
A comprehensive and concerted effort can make the Northeast a global leader in the policy and
technology innovation needed to avoid excessive climate change. At the same time, the states,
private sector, and individuals would also benefit from energy and economic security, job
creation, clean air, and a sustainable economy in a region that has relatively few energy resources.
The Northeast has the technical resources, experience, and leadership to build a low-emissions
future and minimize the climate changes to which we must adapt; now we need to act.
This summary was prepared by the Union of Concerned Scientists based on two reports of the
Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA): Climate Change Mitigation Strategies and Policies
for the Northeast United States by W. Moomaw and L. Johnston (forthcoming) and Climate Change
in the U.S. Northeast by K. Hayhoe, C. Wake, et al. (2006). The NECIA is a collaboration between
the Union of Concerned Scientists and a team of independent experts to assess global warming
impacts and solutions in the Northeast United States.
Union of Concerned Scientists, Two Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02238 • Phone: (617) 547-
5552 • Fax: (617) 864-9405
For more information or to download a copy of the report Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast,
visit www.climatechoices.org.
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists
Global warming is under way and poised to have a substantial impact on the Northeast—a nine-
state region extending from Maine to New Jersey. Some climate changes are now unavoidable,
but the extent of these changes and the specific effects they have on our region depend largely on
the emissions choicewe make today—in the Northeast and worldwide.
While actions to reduce emissions in the Northeast alone will not stem global warming, the region is
a global leader in technology, policy, finance, and innovation, and a major source of emissions of
carbon dioxide, the most important heattrapping gas. Thus, the Northeast is well positioned to be a
technology and policy leader in reducing these emissions, and can drive the national and
international progress essential to providing our children and grandchildren with a healthy
future climate.
The Northeast, which accounted for 13.6 percent of the United States’ energy related carbon
dioxide emissions in 2001, represents the world’s seventh largest source of such emissions when
compared with entire nations. The transportation sector is the Northeast’s largest emissions source
(35 percent), followed by the electric power sector (30 percent), buildings (22 percent), and industry
(13 percent).
To the Northeast’s credit, it has been one of this country’s leading innovators in early efforts to
reduce heat-trapping emissions. Examples of the region’s leadership include:
• The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the first U.S. multistate cap on carbon
emissions, which will require the electric power sector to decrease its emissions 10 percent below
current levels by 2019.
• Many state-level actions including policies to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy,
clean cars, climate action plans, and efforts to reduce emissions from state government.
• Emissions reduction strategies being implemented by many municipalities,corporations, and
universities.
In 2001, the New England Governors and the Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP) adopted a
long-term goal of reducing regional heat-trapping emissions 75 to 85 percent below then-current
levels.
If the Northeast and the industrialized world follow such a pathway, and developing nations follow a
relatively low emissions pathway as well, the world will be on track to avoid the more severe
consequences of climate change.
Key Opportunities
A lower-emissions pathway could combine high economic growth with a shift toward less fossil fuel-
intensive power production and the introduction of clean and resource-efficient buildings and
technologies. Reductions in heat-trapping emissions of just three percent per year on average
would enable the Northeast to meet the NEG/ECP goal by mid-century.
A rich array of options is available to the Northeast to help us pursue a low emissions pathway and
continue our leadership in policy and technology innovation. Examples in the key carbon-emitting
sectors include:
Transportation
Cost-effective technologies available today—such as better transmissions, improved tires and
aerodynamics, and stronger but lighter frames—could reduce emissions by roughly one-third over
the next decade and save consumers money at the pump. Gasoline -electric hybrids could
eliminate more than half of the heat-trapping emissions from light-duty vehicles. Policies could
encourage reductions in the total number of miles people drive and low -carbon alternatives to
petroleum could ultimately eliminate transportation as a major source of heat-trapping emissions.
Electric Power
More efficient lighting and other technologies could cost-effectively offset the Northeast's projected
growth in electricity demand over the next decade. Widely available wind energy and other
renewable resources, clean distributed small-scale energy systems and combined heat and power
could then displace a significant amount of current fossil fuel generation. For example, wind has
the technical potential to satisfy about half of our annual energy consumption in the Northeast, and
the potential for offshore wind appears even greater.
Buildings
Energy-efficient design of walls, windows, roofs heating and cooling systems, and lighting and
appliances would also help reduce emissions while saving on energy costs.
Industry
Innovative new energy-efficient plant design combined with new low-emssions technologies would
make a major contribution to this effort.
Recommended Actions
A combination of policies, programs, and individual actions can put the Northeast on the pathway to
a three percent average reduction in annual emissions. Policy makers at all levels of government
must put appropriate policies in place and implement them fully, provide incentives that will drive
markets, and support innovation. Government, industry, and academia can lead by example,
raising public awareness of the consequences of climate change and the availability of feasible
solutions. Individuals can act through their purchasing decisions, lifestyle choices, and the political
pressure they can bring to bear on elected officials. Promising actions in the key carbon-emitting
sectors include:
Transportation
States can encourage sales of low-emissions vehicles through emissions standards for
heattrapping gases, sales and excise taxes, carbon-based vehicle fees, alternative-fuel policies,
and policies to reduce urban sprawl and expand public transportation. Institutions and individuals
can buy more fuel-efficient vehicles and save money. Reducing the average miles driven can be
achieved through improved public transportation, telecommuting, smart growth development, and
similar strategies.
Electric Power
States can implement a strong mandatory “cap-and-trade” program for carbon emissions (such as
RGGI) that also lowers costs for consumers by incorporating energy efficiency, renewable energy
development, and combined heat and power. States can also adopt and strengthen efficiency and
renewable energy standards and purchasing practices, and work toward full implementation of
existing policies. Institutions and individuals can purchase efficient compact fluorescent lighting and
Energy Star appliances, and choose renewable power options from their electricity supplier.
Buildings
States can substantially improve building energy codes and adopt policies that foster low-emissions
purchasing and renovation decisions. For example, applying Energy Star standards to new
construction and renovations would reduce emissions for each building 20 to 30 percent, with little
or no extra cost. Much greater reductions are technically and economically feasible. States,
cities, and institutions can all set an example of high-efficiency, low-emissions building design and
renovation. Tax benefits can encourage individuals to add insulation, upgrade heating and cooling
systems, and replace inefficient lighting and appliances to reduce their bills as well as their heat-
trapping emissions.
Industry
State tax and regulatory incentives can encourage industry to use renewable energy and combined
heat and power, and to continuously increase production efficiency. One key to a low-emissions
pathway lies in forward-thinking personal and institutional choices. We need not be “pennywise
and pound foolish” when it comes to energy decisions. Each time we purchase equipment,
vehicles, or buildings we contribute to our long-term emissions and energy costs. A true
transformation of our economy and infrastructure to a lower emissions future will require that we
make wise energy choices.
A comprehensive and concerted effort can make the Northeast a global leader in the policy and
technology innovation needed to avoid excessive climate change. At the same time, the states,
private sector, and individuals would also benefit from energy and economic security, job
creation, clean air, and a sustainable economy in a region that has relatively few energy resources.
The Northeast has the technical resources, experience, and leadership to build a low-emissions
future and minimize the climate changes to which we must adapt; now we need to act.
This summary was prepared by the Union of Concerned Scientists based on two reports of the
Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA): Climate Change Mitigation Strategies and Policies
for the Northeast United States by W. Moomaw and L. Johnston (forthcoming) and Climate Change
in the U.S. Northeast by K. Hayhoe, C. Wake, et al. (2006). The NECIA is a collaboration between
the Union of Concerned Scientists and a team of independent experts to assess global warming
impacts and solutions in the Northeast United States.
Union of Concerned Scientists, Two Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02238 • Phone: (617) 547-
5552 • Fax: (617) 864-9405
For more information or to download a copy of the report Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast,
visit www.climatechoices.org.