Environment Arizona
can be contacted with any questions regarding this news release.
Global
warming pollution in Arizona jumped 464 percent between 1960 and 2001,
according to "The Carbon Boom: National And State Trends In Global
Warming Pollution Since 1960,"
a new analysis of government data released today by the Arizona PIRG
Education Fund. Increased coal, oil and natural gas emissions were
responsible for 54 percent, 38 percent and 8 percent of this increase,
respectively. Carbon Boom ranked Arizona in the top 10 states for the
largest overall increase in carbon dioxide emissions over the four
decades. This report comes as the Governor’s Climate Change Advisory
Group is to finalize policy options to reduce global warming to send to
the governor at their meeting on Thursday, June 22, 2006.
“Arizona
needs to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by making our homes and
businesses more energy efficient, making our cars and SUVs go farther
on a gallon of gasoline, and generating more electricity from renewable
energy sources,” stated Diane E. Brown, Executive Director of the
Arizona PIRG Education Fund.
Using data compiled by the
U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Arizona
PIRG Education Fund’s new report examines trends in carbon dioxide
emissions and fossil fuel combustion nationally and by state between
1960 and 2001, the most recent year for which state-by-state data are
available. Major findings of the report include:
•
Arizona emitted 15.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 1960; by
2001, the state’s emissions had grown to 87.6 million metric tons, an
increase of 464 percent. Nationwide, emissions of carbon dioxide nearly
doubled between 1960 and 2001, jumping from 2.9 billion metric tons of
carbon dioxide in 1960 to almost 5.7 billion metric tons in 2001, an
increase of 95 percent.
• Arizona ranks in the top 10 nationwide for the largest overall increase in carbon dioxide emissions over the four decades.
•
In Arizona, increased coal combustion – primarily to generate
electricity – accounted for 54 percent of the state’s increase in
carbon dioxide emissions from 1960 to 2001. Coal has the highest carbon
content of any fossil fuel, meaning that burning coal for electricity
produces more carbon per unit of energy than does burning oil or
natural gas. Over the four decades analyzed, as demand for electricity
boomed, Arizona added 5,861 megawatts of new coal-burning power plant
capacity. Arizona experienced low carbon dioxide emissions from coal in
the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1974, the first unit of the 2,400 MW
coal-fired Navajo generating station went online in Coconino County;
the third unit went online in 1976. Between 1974 and 1977, carbon
dioxide emissions from coal almost quadrupled in Arizona. Over the next
four years, Arizona added more than 2,200 MW of new coal-fired
generating capacity in the state; as a result, between 1977 and 1982,
carbon dioxide emissions from coal almost doubled again.
•
In Arizona, increased oil combustion – largely to fuel cars and light
trucks – accounted for 38 percent of the state’s increase in carbon
dioxide emissions from 1960 to 2001. Vehicle travel increased
dramatically over the period, while the fuel efficiency of U.S.
vehicles stalled in the late 1980s. The number of miles driven on
Arizona’s roads increased from 4,487 per capita VMT in 1960 to 9,356
per capita VMT in 2001, an increase of 109 percent.
•
In Arizona, increased natural gas combustion – mainly in industrial
processes and to heat and power our homes and businesses – accounted
for 8 percent of the state’s increase in carbon dioxide emissions from
1960 to 2001.
The
early effects of global warming are evident in Arizona and worldwide.
According to NASA, 2005 was the warmest year ever recorded. Left
unchecked, global warming threatens to:
• cause serious future water shortages in Arizona, as our snowpack-fed rivers and streams dry up;
• cause more frequent and extreme droughts in Arizona, as warmer temperatures evaporate moisture in the soil more quickly; and
• cause more frequent and severe heat waves in Arizona, which will
increase the number of people who suffer heat stress and stroke.
“The
longer we wait to reduce global warming pollution, the harder the task
will be in the future. We praise the efforts of the Governor’s Climate
Change Advisory Group for recognizing the problem and recommending
solutions,” Brown noted.
“By
using existing technologies to make cars and power plants more
efficient and by increasing the use of clean, renewable energy sources,
such as solar and wind, we will reduce our dependence on oil, reduce
air pollution and save consumers money,” Brown continued.
In
addition to attention in Arizona on global warming, today, the Safe
Climate Act, which provides a long-term, science-based solution to
global warming, was introduced in the U.S. Congress. The bill requires
the U.S. to reduce its global warming pollution by 15% from today’s
levels by 2020 and by 80% by 2050. To achieve these targets, the bill
calls for improved energy efficiency and a greater reliance on clean,
renewable energy sources, while providing companies flexibility in
meeting the pollution-reduction goals through a “cap-and-trade”
program. Members of the Arizona Congressional delegation were urged to
support this effort.
