Energy

Northeastern States Aren’t Even Close To Meeting Their Climate Goals

Shutterstock

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Jason Hopkins Immigration and politics reporter
Font Size:

Despite the adoption of dramatic and costly measures to reduce their greenhouse gases, New England states are far short of meeting their emissions target.

New England — and additionally, New York — has gone to great lengths to battle climate change. Politicians and regulators have enacted numerous policies over the years that aim to reduce the region’s output of carbon emissions, which include the gradual elimination of fossil fuels from its energy mix while subsiding the wind and solar industries.

These policies, however, have come at a price. The Northeast pays 56 percent more for its energy than the national average. The cold winter months put the region’s grid to the test, forcing utilities to make an international search for fuel — even accepting natural gas from Russia. A report by New England’s grid operator determined the region is at risk of future rolling blackouts unless changes are made. Robert Powelson, a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, likened the situation to a horror story.

Despite all of this, New England is not on track to meet its climate goals.

The majority of New England states have a target of 80-percent reduction from 1990 carbon emission levels by the year 2050. Currently, the region has only attained a 16-percent economy-wide reduction from this target. An executive with National Grid, a utility company that operates in the Northeast, pointed out that New England will fail to meet its goal unless more reforms are made.

“An economy-wide transformation will require customer engagement, new policy frameworks and rapid technological innovation,” Mike Calviou, a senior vice president of strategy and regulation at National Grid, said to Axios. Calviou suggested an increase on the zero-carbon electricity supply, more light-duty electric vehicles and more energy-efficient buildings.

These changes — at least in New England’s electricity sector — could prove difficult. In response to rising electricity costs and controversial billing systems, every state in New England has taken steps to scale back subsidies to the solar industry — mostly involving how solar panel owners are compensated for their power. (RELATED: Every State In New England Is Reconsidering Their Subsidies To Solar Power)

Regulators in the progressive enclave of Vermont, for example, have balked at rising electricity costs. Right next door, the Republican governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu, vetoed legislation that would have raised net metering caps for the solar industry, saving residents millions in higher electricity rates. Sununu’s office has called for the state to pivot away from subsidizing the solar and wind industry, and instead embrace natural gas and nuclear.

Follow Jason on Twitter.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel