Environmental Poliicy Initiative Webinar held on December 12, 2013.
Featuring:
Bill Stanley, The Nature Conservancy
Samy Sekar, Resources for the Future
Dr. Brent Sohngen, James Goodenberger and Shelby Stults, The Ohio State University
This webinar examines the role of policy and economic trends on reducing carbon emissions in Ohio. In our research, we found that renewable energy laws are remarkably effective at reducing carbon emissions, lowering the nation's emissions by over 1.1 billion tons CO2 over a ten year period, or around 3.5% per year by 2012. Ohio's renewable energy laws, Senate Bill 221, are newer and have a smaller requirement than most other states, but they have already reduced carbon emissions in Ohio by over 2.5 million tons through 2012, or around 0.5% per year. Looking forward, the reductions in emissions that will result from Ohio's existing energy efficiency regulations will be dramatic in the state, cutting Ohio's emissions by over 50% within the next 40 years.