CT Climate News

For background on DEEP's Comprehensive Energy Strategy, check out these two summaries from January 2022: Connecticut DEEP Announces a New Comprehensive Energy Strategy For 2022 (Pullman & Comley) Connecticut targets building emissions, energy equity as it moves to update energy strategy (Utility Dive)

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released a new report on invasive species .  In the 20 years since CEQ released Great Infestations , those that were identified in that initial report have prospered and many new invasive species, both animal and plant, have taken up residence in our state.  None have been extirpated and it is not realistic to expect that they will be. In fact, it is to be expected that more will arrive as a consequence of the warming climate that is gradually making Connecticut more hospitable to species that do not tolerate cold weather.  The new report examines the adverse impacts of invasives on all the state’s land forms and ecosystems, from its waterways to its natural lands and also its working lands and developed landscapes.  The report also includes recommendations to improve how the state addresses the control of invasive species. Read CEQ's new report, "INVASIVES": PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED and NEWLY ARRIVED .

The Yale Program on Climate Change and Communication has published a new report, " Rising leaders on social and environmental sustainability ." In collaboration with the Yale Center for Business and the Environment and the Global Network for Advanced Management , we surveyed 2,035 students from business schools based in 30 different countries on their beliefs and attitudes about global warming, environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and business school education. The authors found that business school students want more sustainability education from their schools. For example, 70% of students want more experiential learning focused on sustainability, 65% want more case studies highlighting sustainability issues, and 62% want better career services focused on sustainability jobs. Importantly, there is strong evidence for a "carbon tax on talent." That is, the findings suggest that businesses with poor environmental records will have a harder time recru

From the AP: UN Climate Report: Atlas of Human Suffering' Worse, Bigger. Deadly with extreme weather now, climate change is about to get so much worse. It is likely going to make the world sicker, hungrier, poorer, gloomier and way more dangerous in the next 18 years with an “unavoidable” increase in risks, a new United Nations science report says. And after that watch out. Read here . From the NY Times: Countries aren’t doing nearly enough to protect against the disasters to come as the planet keeps heating up, a major new scientific report concludes. The dangers of climate change are mounting so rapidly that they could soon overwhelm the ability of both nature and humanity to adapt unless greenhouse gas emissions are quickly reduced, according to a major new scientific report released on Monday. The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations, is the most detailed look yet at the threats posed by global warming. Read

Governor Ned Lamont is urging the Connecticut General Assembly to approve legislation he introduced ( Senate Bill 10 , An Act Concerning Climate Change Mitigation ) that will codify into state statutes the 2040 zero-carbon electric grid goal the governor established in 2019 when he issued Executive Order No. 3 and was also included as a recommendation by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in its 2020 Integrated Resources Plan . The proposal is the subject of a public hearing being held today by the Energy and Technology Committee. The governor explained that codifying this into statute is necessary to provide state policymakers and the electricity sector with a shared goal of fully transitioning the state away from relying on natural gas and oil to power its electric grid. While Connecticut has already made significant progress in decarbonizing its grid, he said the state must accelerate that progress to do its part in mitigating climate change. “We’ve

Worsening heat and dryness could lead to a 50 percent rise in off-the-charts fires, according to a landmark United Nations report . The risk of devastating wildfires around the world will surge in coming decades as climate change further intensifies what the report described as a “global wildfire crisis.” Read more .