Global Warming Solutions Reports

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A Blueprint For Action; Policy Options to Reduce Illinois’ Contribution To Global Warming 1/31/2007 Download the full report.

Executive Summary

Illinois could make major strides towards reducing its emissions of global warming pollution by adopting a series of policy strategies to make the state more energy efficient, reduce the use of fossilfuels, and generate cleaner electricity.

Adoption of the 13 policy strategies in this report would help Illinois stabilize its emissions of global warming pollutants despite significant population growth. In the process, these strategies would improve Illinois' energy security and begin the technological shifts necessary to reduce Illinois' emissions of global warming pollution to levels that do not have a harmful effect on the climate.

Even with these strategies, however, Illinois will still need to take additional steps as part of its long-term plan to reduce its contribution to global warming.

Global warming is real, is happening now, and poses a serious threat to Illinois' future.

• Global average temperatures increased by 1^o F in the 20th century and are now increasing at a rate of about 0.36^o F per decade. Sea levels are on the rise, ice and snow cover are decreasing, and hurricane intensity has increased (p. 9).

• The consensus view of the scientific community is that most of the global warming that has occurred is due to human activities-particularly the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuel consumption releases carbon dioxide, which traps the sun's radiation near the earth's surface. Since 1750, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 35 percent-leaving the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere higher than it has been in the last 650,000 years (p. 11).

• Should the world continue on its present course, global warming emissions could triple in the next half century, with global temperatures increasing by 2.5 to 10^o F over 1990 levels by 2100. The ecological balance upon which life depends would be irrevocably altered (p. 11).

• Illinois is vulnerable to negative impacts from global warming, including drought, which could reduce production of corn and soybeans, and cause up to a five-foot drop in lake levels and river flows that would impede shipping goods by water. Public health could suffer as higher  temperatures increase air pollution, the spread of tropical disease, and heat-related deaths (p. 13). Emissions of global warming pollution are on the rise in Illinois.

• Between 1990 and 2002, Illinois’ emissions of carbon dioxide from energy use increased by 17 percent. Electricity generation produces the largest share of carbon dioxide pollution in the state (38 percent), followed by transportation (28 percent), and direct use of fossil fuels in industry (17 percent), homes (11 percent), and businesses (5 percent). Because Illinois does not yet collect complete data on global warming emissions from various sources, the information presented here is compiled from the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) (p. 15).

• Illinois is on a path that will lead to significant increases in global warming emissions over the next several decades. According to a projection based on data from EIA, Illinois’ emissions of carbon dioxide from energy use could increase by 12 percent over 2002 levels by 2025, with increases in emissions from the transportation sector and electricity generation responsible for the bulk of emissions growth (p. 17). Illinois could reduce its contribution to global warming by adopting 13 key policy strategies. There are numerous tools available to Illinois to reduce global warming pollution.

Among the options are the following policies:

1. Adopt the Clean Cars Program, which will put increasing numbers of hybrid-electric cars on Illinois’ roads and impose limits on vehicle carbon dioxide emissions.

2. Require the sale of energy-saving replacement tires that improve vehicle efficiency without negatively affecting safety.

3. Require automobile insurers to offer pay-as-you-drive automobile insurance, in which insurance rates are calculated by the mile, rewarding those who drive less while potentially reducing accidents.

4. Reduce the number of automobile commutes by requiring large employers to develop programs to discourage single-passenger commuting and provide employees with more transportation options.

5. Adopt policies that would reduce growth in vehicle miles traveled by cars and light trucks on Illinois’ highways, such as measures to reduce sprawling development and encourage the use of transit and other transportation alternatives.

6. Establish a stronger renewable fuels standard, such that a portion of motor fuel comes from renewable sources with lower life-cycle emissions than gasoline or diesel.

7. Adopt strong statewide residential building energy codes.

8. Adopt strong energy efficiency standards for appliances and equipment.

9. Increase funding for energy efficiency programs.

10. Expand use of combined heat and power, in which commercial and industrial facilities use the same energy to generate both electricity and useful heat.

11. Adopt a renewable energy standard to increase the amount of clean, renewable electricity consumed in the state.

12. Adopt a carbon cap on emissions from the electricity sector.

13. Adopt measures to reduce government energy use and promote the use of clean energy in government buildings.

Adoption of these strategies would reduce global warming pollution while improving Illinois’ energy efficiency and spurring the development of renewable sources of energy. By 2018, Illinois’ emissions of carbon dioxide would be approximately 31 percent below projected levels. By 2025, despite the retirement of 30 percent of Illinois’ nuclear generating capacity, carbon dioxide emissions would be 31 percent below projected levels.

Illinois should commit to reducing its emissions of global warming pollutants by the amount necessary to do its share to prevent dangerous climate change, and adopt public policies sufficient to achieve those reductions.

Specifically, the state should:

• Commit to achieving reductions in global warming emissions of 10 percent below current levels over the next 10 years (by 2018) and of at least 80 percent by 2050, with reductions coming from every sector of the economy.
 
• Adopt the 13 strategies recommended in this report to achieve the 2018 target listed above and to go beyond it.

• Pursuing an economy-wide cap on global warming pollution at the regional or federal level to ensure that emission cuts in Illinois do not result in increases elsewhere.

• Investigating options for additional policies to reduce global warming pollution, especially in areas not directly addressed in this report, such as emissions from air travel and industrial energy use and emissions of global warming pollutants other than carbon dioxide.