Across the Northeastern United States, town by town, plant by plant coal-fired power is making its exit from the scene. By the end of next year Massachusetts will no longer generate any electricity from coal. Governor Cuomo has committed New York to join Massachusetts on the roll call of coal free states by 2020, and Connecticut will follow shortly thereafter by 2021. But now these states and the rest of the Northeast face a choice: will the energy future be powered by dirty, unreliable fossil fuels or will these states invest in forward thinking, renewable energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicle programs that will power the economy for decades to come?
Here at the Sierra Club we’re firmly devoted to ensuring that the Northeast delivers on the promise of a clean energy future, that’s why Sierra Club is committed to ensuring that, as the region moves beyond coal, we rise to the opportunity afforded by deep investments clean energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicles.
The Northeast is in a unique position to show the rest of the nation that tackling climate disruption across all sectors of the economy is not only possible but will reap massive rewards for families, businesses, and workers. We must ensure our leaders have the power they need to create visionary clean energy projects, the initiative to significantly cut carbon pollution, and the impetus to put millions more electric vehicles on the road. Fueled by the dynamism of our organizers, volunteers and people just like you our Northeast efforts will create tens of thousands of jobs, invest billions back into our communities and reshape the way we think about power.
Broadly, the Sierra Club will work to accelerate investment in wind and solar across the region toward powering 100 percent of our energy needs, rapidly expanding the use of clean electricity to new markets, and using that new energy to more efficiently supply our homes, businesses, and vehicles while promoting openness, equity and justice. The campaign starts by helping states meet their current climate targets and create a stronger and more just program to reduce carbon pollution in the electric sector through the 2016 Program Review of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
An improved RGGI program won’t just slash climate-disrupting carbon pollution from the electric sector, it will help create more than 60,000 new jobs per year on average and generate more than $25 billion in energy costs savings. The program also provides funding for investments in energy efficiency and clean energy that can be better directed to communities historically overburdened by pollution and underserved by regional economic growth and workers that have previously supported their families with jobs in dirtier and more dangerous ways of producing energy.
But improving RGGI is just the beginning of our new combined effort in the Northeast. We’ll keep supporting the other policies that have spurred tremendous growth of wind and solar power in the region, such as opportunities for cities and companies to buy 100% clean energy while benefiting from reduced electricity costs with energy-saving technologies and rooftop solar. As carbon pollution in the electric sector plummets, the region can then use that increasing clean electricity to power millions of new electric vehicles and even help heat our homes.
Through our combined Northeastern campaign we’ll highlight the successes of great programs around the region that lead the way on energy efficiency, electrification of our transportation and heating options, and clean energy installation. We’ll work with all segments of the electric and transportation industry to ensure millions of new electric vehicles hit the road over the next decade. And, we’ll help improve the nation-leading energy efficiency programs-- saving families and businesses money while further reducing carbon pollution.
Keep an eye out here and our great new website for more info, actions and ways to get involved.