Last week, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection published its latest Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory, the most comprehensive accounting of the state’s air pollution that contributes to climate change. In tracking progress toward the state’s statutory GHG emissions reduction targets, the report’s preliminary data shows that emissions increased in 2022 for a second consecutive year.
While the state has made progress since 1990, it finds that there is work to be done to meet pollution reduction goals set by the legislature. Connecticut met its goal for 2020 emissions set by Connecticut statute but says the accelerated pace of reductions is needed to meet statutory medium- and long-term goals. Based on preliminary data, the top three emitting sectors in 2022 were responsible for over three-quarters of the state’s total emissions: transportation (42%), residential heating with fossil fuels (21%), and commercial building heating with fossil fuels (13%).
In 2020, Connecticut met an emission reduction goal set by the state’s 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act. Reaching the next goal – a 45% reduction in GHG emissions from 2001 levels by 2030 – requires an average reduction of 1.1M metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent each year between 2022 and 2030. Connecticut has not yet achieved this rate.
