MD is Well-Positioned to Thrive Under Proposed Carbon Regulations

Maryland has been a leader in efforts to fight climate change and has the opportunity to continue to develop a sustainable, innovative economy as it pursues new goals for cutting carbon pollution announced by the Obama administration last week.

The proposed regulations seek to cut carbon emissions from the nation’s power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Each state has its own target, and Maryland must reduce its emissions by 36.5 percent. But states can chart their own path to achieving these goals, and Maryland is ahead of the pack.

Through its Greenhouse Gas Reduction and StateStat programs, Maryland already has its own state-level goals to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020. So far, the state has cut total greenhouse emissions by 8 percent since 2006. 

Source: Maryland StateStat

Since President Obama’s proposed regulations make 2005 the benchmark for carbon emission reduction, Maryland’s efforts to date will count toward the new requirements.

One way Maryland is making progress is through its efforts to increase renewable energy generation in the state to 20 percent of the total generated by 2022. It has increased to 8.2 from 5.8 percent over the past six years. The state has also cut per capita electricity consumption by 10.1 percent, well on its way to meeting a goal of 15 percent less consumption by 2015.

Finally, Maryland is a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), alongside Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The states set a cap on carbon dioxide emissions and companies buy and sell emission allowances as a market-based way to reduce pollution. This will give them a head start in meeting the new national goals to reduce carbon pollution.

The new national regulations to reduce carbon pollution are needed to protect future generations from potentially catastrophic climate change, and the Baltimore Sun rightly notes that they are “criminally overdue.” But this is not just about future generations. The effects of climate change can already be seen, and Maryland has an opportunity to develop an innovative and sustainable economy that can benefit current and future generations alike.

Maryland is beginning to see how addressing climate change can benefit its economy. Since the start of the RGGI in 2009, carbon emissions for participating states dropped 2.7 times faster than the rest of the country, while the economies of these states grew 2.5 times faster. Maryland should continue to build on these efforts.