The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board has pledged to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks despite also pursuing projects that could hinder those reductions.
See the full story in the Virginia Mercury.
More DMV News
In Virginia’s Internet Corridor, Climate Targets and Data Center Growth Collide
Energy News Network
Prince William County sustainability officials are crafting a plan to put the county on track to achieve regional climate commitments, but plans to welcome more data centers threaten to put the goals farther from reach.
RGGI Funds Have Been a Game-Changer For Many Low-Income Homes
Virginia Mercury
As Congress passes historic climate legislation for the first time in decades, Virginia has already been combating climate change via the commonwealth’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
California’s 2035 Ban on New Gas-Powered Cars Set to Apply to Virginia
Virginia Mercury
California’s decision to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars beginning in 2035 will also halt the sale of such vehicles in Virginia due to a 2021 law linking the commonwealth to the western state’s vehicle emissions standards, state attorneys have concluded.
SCC to Hear More Arguments on Wind Farm Ratepayer Protection
AP News
State regulators said Wednesday they would consider additional arguments about whether Dominion Energy Virginia’s plans to build a massive offshore wind farm should include a ratepayer protection that the utility has said will kill the project.
National and International News
We Finally Have a Bold National Climate Change Law… What’s Next?
IREC
Signed into law by President Biden on August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is, as the New York Times detailed, the “largest climate investment ever made by Congress, amounting to roughly $390 billion over 10 years.” $369 billion of that is allocated to programs that support the transition to clean energy sources (including energy efficiency and energy storage) and electric vehicles and other decarbonization technologies.
Five 1,000-Year Rain Events Have Struck the U.S. in Five Weeks. Why?
Washington Post
Parts of the United States, especially in the West, are gripped by an inveterate and devastating drought — yet many drought-stricken areas have experienced rare and extreme flooding over the summer, bringing fiercely different precipitation extremes to the region in a matter of hours.
Growing Building Sector Carbon Emissions Threaten 2050 Net-Zero Goal, Report Warns
Utility Dive
The building sector “is not on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050,” the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation warned in a report published Monday. Direct emissions from the sector, which do not include electricity use, accounted for 14% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 — up from 8% in 2005, the nonprofit and nonpartisan research institute said.
Meeting Emissions Mandates in New York’s Buildings, Explained
New York Times
In 2019, the City Council enacted a package of bills to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, including one bill that became Local Law 97 and set limits for emissions from large buildings. Building owners are scrambling to figure out how to pay for upgrades to comply.
California Will Ban Sales of New Gasoline-Powered Cars By 2035
NPR
California air regulators voted Thursday on a historic plan to address climate change and harmful pollution by moving the nation’s largest auto market away from the internal combustion engine.