Connecticut acts on global warming
New law will cut emissions 80 percent by 2050
In
June, Gov. Jodi Rell signed “An Act Concerning Global Warming
Solutions” into law. The Environment Connecticut-backed bill creates
mandatory caps on global warming pollution in Connecticut and requires
emission cuts to 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent by
2050.
State Rep. Patricia Widlitz (Guilford) helped lead the effort to pass
the bill before the Legislature adjourned for the year. She noted that
the bill, “builds upon the success of the 2004 legislation.” That law
prompted Connecticut to take the first steps toward cutting global
warming pollution from sources including cars, trucks and power plants.
The new law makes Connecticut the fifth state after California, New
Jersey, Hawaii and Washington to take the next step, by adopting
mandatory limits on global warming pollution.
How it will work
The bill requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to
create a schedule of specific regulatory and other actions to reduce
global warming pollution to the levels of the mandatory emissions caps
in the law. The DEP must also demonstrate regular progress toward
meeting those emissions reductions.
Upon final passage of the bill, Sen. John McKinney (Fairfield) said,
“by capping greenhouse gas emissions, we will reduce our carbon
footprint, conserve energy, and improve air quality in Connecticut
while setting an important example for the rest of the nation.”
Connecticut sets a high bar
While the Bush administration has taken a do-nothing approach to global
warming, states like Connecticut are achieving real progress.
Environment Connecticut worked in recent years to enact legislation
adopting Clean Car standards and implementing the Regional Greenhouse
Gas Initiative cap-and-trade program for power plant emissions. In
Washington, D.C., our national lobby office is working to build upon
this success by convincing Congress and the next president to take
action to fight global warming at the federal level.
