Update on State Clean Energy Policies

States are continuing to make significant commitments to policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the federal government is undertaking efforts to roll back federal GHG programs, states have a long history of taking the lead to design policies that meet their citizens' environmental, health, and economic objectives and often look to build upon other states' successes. Some states are identifying tools to achieve greater reductions through existing programs, some are targeting programs to tackle dual goals of addressing climate change and developing a clean energy economy in their state, and others are looking to ensure their states’ economies remain sustainable in the face of climate change. As a result of these efforts as well as others, renewable energy generation has doubled since 2008, with nearly 90 percent of the increase resulting from wind and solar generation.

 

This MJB&A Issue Brief highlights some of the recent actions taken by states to address climate change, from increasing existing renewable portfolio standards and broadening these standards' eligibility, to implementing “clean peak standards,” to exploring how best to design and implement market-based GHG reduction programs.

 

UPDATE: This MJB&A Issue Brief has been updated to reflect several state legislative and regulatory actions that have occurred since the initial publication of this brief on April 18, 2019.