Tag: greenhouse gases

Take a stand for Connecticut’s environment

Do you care about our climate? Do you care about breathing polluted air? Do you care about energy costs?

Then you need to care about Connecticut’s proposed energy strategy. Ready to take a stand for our energy and environment?

Tell the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Connecticut should be a climate champion. Tell the DEEP the proposed energy strategy falls short. The DEEP issued its draft 2017 Comprehensive Energy Strategy, which will shape state energy policy for the next three years.
BUT, the draft CES plan does not put us on a path to meet our 2020 climate goals and DEEP needs to hear from you!

Here are three key messages you need to tell DEEP:

  1. Ask DEEP to expand the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) to 50% by 2030. We need a stronger RPS that requires electric providers to buy a certain percentage of the energy they sell from renewable sources (solar, wind, etc.).
  2. Ask DEEP to establish a better solar market and a statewide, shared solar program.  More rooftop solar and a vibrant shared solar program (for those who can’t put solar on their roof) are vital to help reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, create a resilient electric grid, and strengthen our local economy.
  3. Ask DEEP to speed up adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs), and clean up our transportation pollution.
    Connecticut must meet its promise of 154,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2025. Cars and trucks cause nearly 40% of our GHG emissions so we must establish stronger incentives for EVs and add more charging stations.

Comments are due by September 25, 2017, at 4 p.m. Email your comments to: [email protected].

You can also mail a hard copy to: Debra Morrell, DEEP – Bureau of Energy and Technology Policy, 10 Franklin Sq., New Britain, CT 06051.

You can also get more information and speak up at one of DEEP’s public meetings:

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 4 p.m., CT DEEP, 79 Elm St., Hartford.
Thursday, Sept. 7, 6:30 p.m. Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), Jones Auditorium, Britton Building, 2nd Floor, 123 Huntington St., New Haven.

More information is available at ctenvironment.org.

Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3) Stakeholder Events in New Haven May 5

During 2016, the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3) will be gathering input from stakeholders across the state, as part of its charge to develop a strategy/plan to meet the state’s mandated goal of an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions below 2001 levels by the year 2050.

The current plan involves three rounds of stakeholder events (May, July and October) to engage stakeholders at different points in the process. For the first round — scheduled for 5:30-7:30 the evening of May 5 — the primary/central location will be in Hartford, with six satellite locations around the state. Participants at the satellite locations will view the presentation(s) via video link and then engage in facilitated dialogue at the local level.

The May 5 gatherings will provide stakeholders the opportunity to learn about and provide feedback on the technologies and measures that will be modeled in the Long range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP). This widely-used software tool for energy policy analysis and climate change mitigation assessment will help us understand the GHG reduction potential of various measures and technologies (and combinations thereof).

The CT Roundtable on Climate and Jobs is helping to coordinate logistics for these gatherings.

Register for May 5! Please register at http://bit.ly/GC3_May5 in order to receive updated info and background materials prior to the gatherings.

May 5 Site—Yale University, Sage Hall, 205 Prospect St., New Haven. Refreshments available at 5 p.m.; program begins at 5:30 p.m. (Other sites are available; see http://bit.ly/1UC3pUb) Registration is not necessary, but it allows us to send you preparatory materials and help us ensure adequate food and proper room set-up.

Info: John Humphries, [email protected], 860-216-7972.