Maine’s updated climate impacts assessment, released today, shows that global warming is posing a growing threat to the state’s economy, environment and public health, which indicates that Maine, like all states, must slash global warming emissions as deeply and quickly as possible, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
Below is a statement by Steve Clemmer, the director of energy research and analysis at UCS and a member of the Maine Climate Council’s Energy Working Group.
“This report shows that Maine needs to do everything it can to rapidly phase out fossil fuel use and accelerate the transition to clean energy. The state’s forthcoming climate action plan must ensure strong implementation of existing clean energy policies while adopting bold new policies to address the urgent and growing threat of climate change.
“Adopting stronger goals and policies for deploying proven and affordable climate solutions will go a long way in meeting Maine’s climate targets, while creating jobs and growing the economy. Key solutions include making our homes and businesses more energy efficient, providing incentives for property owners to electrify their heating systems and motorists to shift to electric vehicles, and increasing investments in wind and solar.
“The Maine Public Utilities Commission should require utilities to incorporate the projections from this report into their climate change protection plans and broader grid planning efforts. The utilities should use the authors of this report as resources because they are steeped in climate science and the range of impacts on the horizon. Fortifying the grid against climate-driven extreme weather while accelerating the deployment of clean energy is important for building a more resilient, reliable, and affordable grid for Maine’s residents.”
Additional UCS Resources and Analyses:
• The UCS report "New England State Climate Action Assessment Using the UCS Resilience Gap Framework."
• A newly launched UCS online map, which tracks the places at risk of extreme heat, wildfires, storms, poor air quality and flooding during the 2024 Danger Season.
• UCS blogposts from this and previous Danger Seasons.
• A 2018 peer reviewed study by UCS titled “Underwater: Rising Seas, Chronic Floods, and the Implications for US Coastal Real Estate.” For the interactive mapping tool, click here.
• A 2015 UCS report titled “Lights Out? Storm Surge, Blackouts, and How Clean Energy Can Help,” which examined the risks storm surge and coastal flooding pose to power plants, substations, and other electricity infrastructure along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts.