A newly released report on electric utilities emissions shows that the rates of air pollution from such facilities have significantly decreased in recent years, according to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
The report is the 11th in the Benchmarking Air Emissions series and its release comes as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prepares to finalize its Clean Power Plan that will drive further decreases in emissions. The report represents a collaboration between Ceres, Bank of America, Calpine, Entergy, Exelon, the Public Service Enterprise Group and the NRDC.
“Most parts of the country are firmly on the path toward a clean energy future, but some states and utilities have a longer way to go and overall the carbon emissions curve is still not bending fast enough,” Ceres President Mindy Lubber said. “To level the playing field for all utilities, and achieve the broader CO2 emissions cuts needed to combat climate change, we need final adoption of the Clean Power Plan.”
While the report’s news is positive, it does suggest a lack of uniformity in state and utility performance. According to the report, 42 states saw decreases in the power sector emissions, while 40 saw their overall emissions decrease. Respectively, the states achieved an average of 19 and 18 percent decreases.
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