Vermont has set a more aggressive goal to reduce carbon emissions as part of an international agreement aimed at averting irreversible climate change.
Vermont joined 11 other states, cities and provinces Thursday to make an nonbinding commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent to 95 percent of 1990 levels by 2050 or achieve per capita emissions of less than 2 metric tons by 2050.
The commitment is part of a broader initiative to hold global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above temperatures recorded during the Industrial Revolution, when the world accelerated the burning of fossil fuels.
Two degrees Celsius is the temperature at which scientist say there will be irreversible climate change that will fundamentally change life on the planet, including rising sea levels, sea ice collapse, extreme weather and drought. The temperature figure has become a touchstone for U.N. climate talks in Paris later this year.
“This is a reminder that we are not acting along. We are part of not just a regional movement but an international movement,” Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources Deb Markowitz said.
Vermont’s emissions accounted for less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2012, but Markowitz said the commitment will help the state share ideas with others and collaborate on future policies. She said while there are no penalties for failure to meet the targets, all the signatories have to come up with a plan for how they will achieve the reductions.
Under the proposed Renewable Energy Standard passed by the Legislature this year, Vermont would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by less than 20 percent of 1990 levels by 2050, according to the Department of Public Service. The 2050 goal is currently set at a 75 percent reduction in 1990 emission levels.
“It’s a down payment but it’s not the only thing that we’re going to need to do,” said Asa Hopkins, director of energy policy and planning for the Department of Public Service.
In 2012, the state missed its greenhouse gas reduction target. The new target will be 80 percent to 95 percent reduction, according to the MOU.
Hopkins said the state is drafting a new Comprehensive Energy Plan that will lay the foundation for future energy policy in Vermont. He said the plan will include policies that reduce energy use in agriculture, transportation and homes while also achieves policy goals that protect the economy, the environment and public health.
The plan will also address ways to capture greenhouse gases before they enter the atmosphere, functions that forests, plants and new technologies achieve.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has previously said emissions must be capped at 2015 levels to avoid a 2-degree temperature rise this century. The IPCC later said there must be deployment of low-carbon energy and still-to-be-developed carbon capture and storage technologies to limit the temperature rise.
The 12 signatories on the “Below 2 MOU” include Acre, Brazil; Baden-Württemberg, Germany; Baja California, Mexico; British Columbia, Canada; California; Catalonia, Spain; Jalisco, Mexico; Ontario, Canada; Oregon; Vermont; Wales; United Kingdom; and Washington state. The drive is spearheaded by California Gov. Jerry Brown.
