Achieving 100% clean renewable energy grows ever more urgent. The General Assembly should act decisively in 2019 to put our state firmly on the necessary pathway.
Recent reports by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and 13 federal agencies clearly show that the dark clouds of climate disaster are on the horizon and approaching quickly. The U.N. also just reported that climate-disrupting carbon emissions, globally and in the U.S., actually went up last year – they were supposed to go down. The conclusion? What we do in the next decade to reduce carbon pollution will determine our children’s and grandchildren’s future.
Moving to 100% electricity from clean sources is a key part of the action we need. Electricity generation and the transportation sector are the two largest sources of carbon pollution in Maryland. Because a major part of reducing pollution from the transportation and other sectors involves using electricity to power things normally supported by fossil fuels, we must move forward to a 100% clean-electricity future.
Currently, only about 5% of the electricity generated within our state comes from wind or solar; most comes from coal, gas, and nuclear. And our current program to incentivize renewal energy through the “Renewable Portfolio Standard” still provides support, in part, to carbon-producing combustion-based electricity sources, including municipal trash incineration and burning wood and wood products.
In 2019, we are supporting a legislative strategy to:
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Require Maryland to get on the path to 100% clean renewable energy by 2040, and commit to developing and finalizing a plan within the next five years to achieve this goal.
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Set a target of 60% by 2030 for Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. This is in line with what the IPCC report indicates is necessary for developed nations.
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Restrict current incentives for combustion-based energies which generate greenhouse gases by removing trash incineration from the Renewable Portfolio Standard, and limit or remove the burning of wood and wood products.
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Adopt specific targets to incentivize the continued growth of Maryland’s offshore wind resource and in-state solar energy.
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Shift toward long-term contracts with clean energy providers. Long term contracts are an effective tool to help companies secure investments in new energy generation and save ratepayers money.
We need everyone’s support for these ambitious measures – the urgency is all too real.