Climate change impacts every facet of environmental protection and exacerbates challenges we already face, ranging from air quality to stormwater management to invasive species.

Pennsylvania’s contribution to global climate change is significant, as should be its role in limiting that change and its impacts.

The PA Environmental Council is concerned that the present level and scope of activity and thinking in the Commonwealth is not robust enough to put us on a viable path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a pace that prevents worst case scenario impacts of climate change.

For example, current efforts to meet the requirements of the Clean Power Plan will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about one-third by 2030, and can be largely achieved by replacement of some Pennsylvania coal with natural gas, and a moderate renewables scale up.

Dating back to 2015, PEC has placed a renewed focus on the idea of deep decarbonization, a pathway to the end goal of eliminating carbon emissions altogether.

But this leaves a significant shortfall in reaching the recommended 80 percent cuts by 2050. Getting to the latter benchmark, and beyond, may require greater systemic changes, while still delivering reliable and affordable energy to consumers.

While there are many ways to reduce carbon emissions, the challenge is determining which strategies, or combination of actions, will be effective in obtaining sufficient emission reductions.

Complicating this is the fact that infrastructure investments being made today can lock in energy choices for decades to come, without achieving significant GHG reductions.

Put another way, incremental decisions made in the next decade may either facilitate virtual elimination of carbon, or push us into “dead ends” that make that outcome impossible or unaffordable.

Emerging thinking is focusing on the idea of deep decarbonization – a pathway to the end goal of eliminating carbon emissions altogether.

In late 2015, PEC began work to examine the efficacy of deep decarbonization as an option for Pennsylvania’s electricity future, planning a two-day conference for an open and honest discussion around the challenges of deep decarbonization as a potential strategy for Pennsylvania.

The event will start a conversation about whether deep decarbonization makes sense for Pennsylvania and, if so, what will be the components of this strategy, and what policies and programs are needed to get there.

This event is being planned for March 2017 (tentative). Click Here for a list of the Deep Decarbonization Conference Advisory Committee members.

While efforts will need to be made to decarbonize all sectors of the economy, including transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture, this event will focus primarily on deep decarbonization of the electricity sector, which accounts for 40 percent of Pennsylvania’s CO2 emissions.

We will explore activities in the following four areas: renewable energy, carbon capture and storage for fossil fuels, energy efficiency, and nuclear power.

Pennsylvania is the third-largest emitter of CO2 in the country. With approximately 200 major electricity generation facilities, the Commonwealth ranks second in the nation in electricity generation, fourth in coal production, and second in both nuclear and natural gas production.

As the No. 1 state in the nation for electricity exports, electricity generation in Pennsylvania has impacts on neighboring states and beyond.

Market conditions alone may get us close to Pennsylvania’s target under the Clean Power Plan of a 33 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

However, a reduction of 80 percent by 2050, and 100 percent soon thereafter, is more in line with international and national estimates of the reduction required to prevent disastrous impacts.

PEC has a long history of convening diverse parties around complex issues for honest dialogue.

We have begun exploring “deep decarbonization” and how this approach might help guide Pennsylvania (and beyond) to achieve significant carbon emissions reductions, while still ensuring affordable and dependable energy supplies and supporting a healthy economy.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA Environmental Council website, visit the PEC Blog, follow PEC on Twitter or Like PEC on Facebook.  Click Here to receive regular updates from PEC.

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