Connecticut has a history of setting national precedents with strong environmental policies. Steps taken by the State of Connecticut to reduce mercury and sulfur dioxide from power plants have prompted other states to issue similar regulations. These successes gave helped to rebut industry’s arguments nationally that such standards were technically infeasible.

In 2001 the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP) acknowledged the threat, and committed to work together to reduce global warming pollution. In 2005, the NEG/ECP announced the Climate Change Action Plan, which commits the region to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010, 10% below 1990 levels by 2020 and by 75-85% in the long term.

In 2007, Clean Water Fund and the Connecticut Climate Coalition, a coalition of 150 state, local, regional and national environmental, public health, municipal and religious organizations dedicated to achieving global warming pollution reductions in the region, reviewed Connecticut's progress on the Climate Change Action Plan. The report, “A Climate for Action”, reveals that of the 55 policies in the Connecticut’s Climate Action Plan, 14 account for a full 90% of the total emissions reductions. But of those top 14, only six are currently being implemented.

Without further action, the state's emissions are estimated to be between 6.4% and 10.7% above 1990 in 2010, missing the legal mandate of returning to 1990 emission levels. With only a couple years before this deadline, Connecticut is losing ground at the time when its successes are most needed to propel stronger Federal policies.

A Climate for Action: Assessing Connecticut's Global Warming Progress - Executive Summary (884 KB)

A Climate for Action: Assessing Connecticut's Global Warming Progress - Full Report (2.8 MB)