EnergyVision 2030 analyzes how states in the Northeast can advance their energy markets to reduce costs, enhance consumer-control, and lower emissions. The EnergyVision 2030 Primary Scenario demonstrates that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be reduced 45% from 1990 levels by 2030 — the reduction needed to put the region on a linear path to reducing emissions 80% by 2050 — using clean energy technologies that are already mass produced and increasingly cost competitive. Acadia Center further conducted an analysis to see what increases in clean energy would be needed to achieve a 50% emission reductions on the same timeline given more ambitious state policies to spur clean energy adoption. In this Accelerated Scenario, emissions would be reduced 50% by 2030—an additional 5% below emissions levels achieved in the EnergyVision 2030 Primary Scenario.
The Accelerated Scenario demonstrates that states have the capacity to achieve larger emission reductions over the same period of time. If every state in the Northeast region adopted the more ambitious policies outlined here, they would collectively avoid an additional 23 million metric tons (MMT) of GHG emissions in 2030, roughly the equivalent of taking 4.9 million cars—or about all the cars registered in CT, MA, NH, ME, and VT—off the road. While not every state will choose a leading role in the energy transformation, the EnergyVision 2030 Accelerated Scenario outlines a pathway for states that want to demonstrate climate leadership, reap the economic benefits of early involvement in clean industries, and secure their role in the clean energy future.
The table below shows how the increased adoption of different technologies in the Primary and Accelerated Scenarios can lead to greater emissions reductions.
Click here to download the full Accelerated Scenario companion brief and view other EnergyVision 2030 downloadable materials.
