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"I applaud the U.S. Supreme Court for ruling that
carbon dioxide is a pollutant and that the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has the authority under the federal Clean Air Act
to regulate greenhouse gases, in contrast to the Bush
administration's claim that it lacks such authority. "For too long, President Bush and U.S. EPA have failed to act to
reduce greenhouse gases. With this ruling, I am hopeful that we will
soon see long-overdue federal leadership to address global warming.
In Illinois, we have challenged this failure of federal leadership
with an aggressive plan to reduce greenhouse gases.
"Yesterday's long-awaited environmental decision came on the eve
of the second meeting of the Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group,
which I created to address the urgent issue of global climate
change. The group's mission is to help me to identify measures to
cost-effectively reduce greenhouse gases in Illinois.
"As part of our state's fight against global warming, I announced
a statewide goal to slash the production of greenhouse gases to 1990
levels by 2020 and 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. These goals
are part of our long-term strategy to combat global climate change
and builds on steps the state has already taken to protect the
environment and public health against the effects of global warming.
"The impact of global warming in Illinois and around the world
could be devastating, and we have chosen to act now because
scientists worldwide have warned that we must address climate change
within the next decade to avoid serious and irreversible
consequences."
= = =
Illinois greenhouse gas fact sheet
Actions by Gov. Blagojevich to reduce greenhouse gases in
Illinois:
-
In February, Gov.
Blagojevich joined California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and
executives from BP to launch the Energy Biosciences Institute,
to be based at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
and the University of California Berkeley. The $500 million
effort, funded by BP, will invest in researching next-generation
homegrown biofuels made from crops that will cut greenhouse gas
emissions, boost America's energy independence and create new
markets for Illinois farmers.
-
-
In January 2007,
Blagojevich celebrated final approval of rules he introduced to
dramatically improve air quality and protect public health by
dramatically slashing mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
emissions from the three largest coal-fired power plant
companies in Illinois: Midwest Generation, Ameren and Dynegy.
The agreements include commitments to shut down three of the
oldest, least efficient boiler units, leading to a reduction of
2.1 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
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Last fall,
Blagojevich's announced his global warming initiative to combat
global climate change. As part of the governor's global warming
initiative, Illinois joined New Mexico to become only the second
state in the nation to join the Chicago Climate Exchange. As a
member of the exchange, the state makes a voluntary, but legally
binding, commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
state buildings and vehicle fleets.
-
Last summer,
Blagojevich announced an ambitious plan to meet the state's
energy needs by investing in wind power and cleaner burning
renewable fuels that will cut greenhouse gas emissions. The plan
also includes a proposed pipeline to help capture carbon dioxide
emissions from new coal gasification plants.
-
Last July, the
governor announced that the state of Illinois would begin
powering 141 Springfield-based facilities under his control with
clean, renewable wind energy purchased from the Springfield's
municipal utility company, City Water Light and Power.
-
In early 2006,
Illinois launched the Illinois Conservation Climate Initiative
in partnership with the Chicago Climate Exchange and the Delta
Institute. The Illinois Conservation Climate Initiative offers
farmers and other landowners the opportunity to earn and sell
greenhouse gas emission reduction credits through the Chicago
Climate Exchange when they take steps to trap carbon dioxide and
reduce methane emissions by using conservation tillage and
planting grasses and trees. These practices keep carbon in the
soil and plants instead of being released as carbon dioxide.
Illinois is the first state to sponsor such a program. More than
200 landowners have enrolled 67,000 acres.
-
The state has
taken numerous steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its
vehicle fleet, including reducing the overall number of state
vehicles by 11 percent, from 13,635 in 2003 to 12,100 now;
increasing the number of flex-fuel vehicles in the state fleet
from 1,339 in 2000, or 10 percent of fleet, to 1,944 now, which
is 16 percent of fleet; and increasing the use of renewable and
cleaner burning ethanol and biodiesel in the state fleet. More
than 1 million gallons of biofuels have been consumed by state
vehicles since April 2004.
-
These efforts not
only curtail greenhouse gas emissions but save taxpayers money
by limiting the state's use of electricity and petroleum-based
transportation fuels.
[Text from files received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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