Emissions Reduction Targets

It is now widely accepted by both the scientific community and most governments that to stabilize the world’s climate at no more than a 2 degree Centigrade temperature increase (often expressed not more than 450-500 parts per million concentration of CO2 equivalents in the atmosphere) emissions must decline.

Meeting this objective requires that global GHG emissions must be cut back to at least 1990 levels by 2020 and at least 80% below that by 2050. Given the scale of this challenge, bold actions need to be implemented in order to initiate an emissions trajectory that leads to deep reductions. Establishing GHG reduction targets is one such action, and in fact is critical to launching a state plan to reduce emissions. Many states have set targets and more are in the process of taking this critical and necessary step to establish a meaningful climate action program.

In 2006 California passed legislation, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 that codifies California's GHG targets in order to ensure that their targets will actually be met. The legislation implements 9 key recommendations including a multi sector, market-based system that includes trading; mandatory reporting of GHG emissions; and an aggressive alternative fuels program. Other states are beginning to follow suit - including most recently the state of Washington passing HB 2815 - legislation that sets into law statewide GHG emissions reductions goals and strategies originally announced in a February 2007 executive order.

Latest News:  Colorado's Governor Ritter enacted several pieces of his Climate Action Plan on April 22, 2007 (Earth Day), including a statewide standard for the reduction of GHG emissions. The standard, established by Executive Order D 004 08, establishes a goal of a 20% reduction in GHG emissions by 2020 and an 80% reduction by 2050.