Clean Air as a Bonus for State Actions Directed at Other Targets

States adopt a wide range of energy-related policies and programs to advance goals such as resilience, economic development, energy affordability, electrifying transportation, grid modernization, and using local resources like hydropower, wind and solar (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Six Common Areas for State Action on Energy-Related Issues
Although clean air is often not a driver, such state actions nonetheless reduce a variety of emissions, including particulates, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. For example, more than half of U.S. states have adopted energy efficiency resource standards, primarily designed to save utility customers money on their utility bills. But these standards also reduce air pollution associated with producing and consuming energy.
To understand this important ancillary benefit across a variety of state initiatives, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) conducted a study of 15 geographically diverse states: Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah (Figure 2). These states have not adopted mandatory climate goals, but they conduct a wide range of energy-related activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants as a side benefit. A new report, Clean Air as a Bonus for Achieving Energy-Related State Goals: A Review of Policies and Programs in 15 States, discusses the findings.
Figure 2. States Included in the Report
The report documents a wide variety of activities that reduce carbon dioxide and other air pollutants while focusing on the state's own energy-related goals. Information and resources presented in the report can serve as a guide for jurisdictions that may wish to consider clean air benefits of energy initiatives designed to achieve other aims.
The report, Clean Air as a Bonus for Achieving Energy-Related State Goals: A Review of Policies and Programs in 15 States, was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Policy. Authors are Lisa Schwartz, Natalie Mims Frick, Grace Relf, Ted Light, Josh Schellenberg and Alan Sanstad