This map shows what each state is doing to fight global warming — together cutting the equivalent 536 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (or MMTCO2E) emissions by 2020. As world leaders meet in Copenhagen, progress at the state level is critical to showing America's commitment to fighting climate change.
While Congress stalls, states are leading the way
While Congress is taking up the media’s attention, states across the country aren’t waiting. California has put a hard cap on global warming emissions, has an aggressive goal for producing 33 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, is leading in solar power with a Million Solar Roofs, and has been regulating auto emissions for years. And California’s economy is larger than all but seven of the countries going to Copenhagen.
Environment America, with affiliate groups in 28 states all across the country, has been raising the bar:
• We’ve helped advance clean energy. Twenty-eight other states have renewable energy requirements. Texas leads the nation in wind energy, generating enough power for 1.6 million homes.
• Thirteen other states have followed California’s lead to cut pollution from cars.
• Nineteen states have adopted minimum energy efficiency requirements for utilities.
• Ten Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states have joined together to cap and reduce global warming emissions from power plants.
• After we helped convince California to adopt the nation’s first mandatory economy-wide cap on global warming emissions, Environment New Jersey led the campaign to get New Jersey to follow suit.
• Next, Environment Connecticut, Environment Massachusetts and Environment Maryland helped pass caps in those states.
• In Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin we persuaded governors to set targets for reducing global warming emissions.
Environment America has built a legacy of concrete progress at the state level, and it’s just the kind of progress that can show the world that American is serious about global warming.
Environment America, our national federation, can give the President the backing he needs.
The Obama administration has expressed interest in telling the story of our states’ progress in Copenhagen. However, at present there exists no comprehensive summary of the progress of our states and regions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To remedy this, the Environment America Research & Policy Center plans to produce one national report that will detail the state programs’ progress, and show America’s commitment to finding global warming solutions. This evidence will give President Obama the ammunition he needs in Copenhagen.
Environment America, with a local presence in states across the country, can get the information out through the grassroots and an organized media campaign:
• Traditional media organizing: tele-news conferences to roll out the reports and to highlight local global warming solutions and heroes; and opinion editorials and other opportunistic media outreach in states that win global warming victories in the next three months, tying the gains to the upcoming Copenhagen conference;
• New media organizing: Youtube, a Web site, blogs, and Facebook and Twitter mobilization, including celebrity and student PIRG engagement—creating a “viral” movement that will educate tens and thousands of students and the general public, and will generate petition signatures; and
• Paid Advertising: With sufficient funding, we would highlight the states’ gains through ads in major newspapers that will be closely followed by the international delegates in Copenhagen.
All of these tactics will substantiate Americans’ concerns about global warming, as well as create public excitement and support for President Obama and his journey to the Copenhagen conference. And it will also help put us in a stronger position to get Congress to take action to cut global warming pollution and rewpower America with clean energy by passing a strong bill.