The Virginia Energy PlanOverview and Climate Change

Recommendations

COG climate change Steering CommitteeNovember 28, 2007

Nikki RovnerDeputy Secretary of Natural

Resources

The Virginia Energy Plan

Introduction• Created in accordance with Title

67 of the Code of Virginia– Directed the Department of Mines,

Minerals, and Energy to create a 10-year state energy plan

•Purpose:– To provide for reliable energy

supplies at reasonable rates while increasing the use of conservation and efficiency in Virginia

The Virginia Energy Plan

Introduction• The Energy Plan’s Four Goals:

– 1. Increase energy independence, emphasizing conservation and clean fuel technologies, by:

• Reducing the rate of growth of energy use by 40 percent. This will reverse the projected growth in per capita energy use, resulting in a nearly level per capita energy use per year

• Increasing Virginia’s indigenous energy production by 20 percent

– 2. Expand consumer energy education to overcome barriers to implementing energy-efficiency and conservation actions

– 3. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2025, bringing emissions back to 2000 levels

– 4. Capitalize on economic development opportunities through business expansion and increased research and development in areas of strength, including alternate transportation fuels, nuclear technology, coastal energy production, and carbon capture and storage

The Virginia Energy Plan

Introduction

The Virginia Energy Plan

Energy Efficiency and Conservation • Efficiency and conservation provide

the least costly and most readily available energy resource options to Virginia

• Recommendations include:– Government taking the lead on the

federal, state, and local levels– Increasing the energy efficiency of fleets

and transportation systems– Commercial businesses, manufacturers,

agricultural and forestry operations, and individuals expanding the use of efficiency and conservation actions

The Virginia Energy Plan

Energy, the Environment, and Climate Change• The Science of Climate Change

– Energy consumption is the largest manmade contributor to GHG emissions

– Most of the observed increase in global temperatures since the mid-20th century is “very likely due” to increased GHG concentrations, according to the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report

– The transportation sector accounts for 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions

The Virginia Energy Plan

Energy, the Environment, and Climate Change• Virginia’s Contribution to GHG

Emissions– Carbon dioxide emissions rose in Virginia

by nearly 35% between 1990 to 2004, a rate nearly twice the national average

• Resulting partly from development patterns that have produced sprawl and long commutes

– Virginia ranked in the top ten states with a 30 percent increase in gasoline-powered cars during this period

• From 1980 to 2000, Virginia's population grew 33 percent, while vehicle miles traveled grew 99 percent

The Virginia Energy Plan

Energy, the Environment, and Climate Change• Impacts of Climate Change on

Virginia’s citizens– Sea level rises threaten coastal islands

and low-lying areas– Air and sea temperature increases cause

more frequent tropical storms– Changing rain and temperature patterns

threaten agriculture and forestry – Chesapeake Bay area is particularly

susceptible to damage caused by climate change

The Virginia Energy Plan

Energy, the Environment, and Climate Change• Goal

– Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2025, bringing emissions back to 2000 levels

– The Plan’s efficiency and conservation recommendations will get us halfway there• Existing plans, including electricity

conservation and reduction in gasoline use, will reduce carbon emissions by 15 percent

The Virginia Energy Plan

Energy, the Environment, and Climate Change• Recommendations:

– Create a Commission on Climate Change to assess GHG issues and develop a plan to meet the 30% Goal• Plan should:

– Calculate the size of Virginia’s carbon footprint

– Address effects of the increasing GHG concentrations on the state

– Identify what Virginia needs to do to adapt to warming temperatures

– Identify what actions are needed to meet the goal of reducing GHG emissions

The Virginia Energy Plan

Energy, the Environment, and Climate Change• Recommendations:

– Go beyond the current voluntary regime and require reporting of GHG emissions

– Virginia had already joined the Climate Registry

The Virginia Energy Plan

Questions?

Nikki RovnerDeputy Secretary of Natural

Resourceswww.naturalresources.virginia.gov