Framework recommendations available for public comment through May 30

Delaware City, DE – At the American Birding Association Headquarters in Delaware City today, Governor Jack Markell highlighted Delaware’s historic success in preparing the state for emerging climate impacts and announced a new Climate Framework for Delaware. The Framework summarizes work completed under Executive Order 41 in addressing climate impacts and includes recommendations that outline Delaware’s future direction for climate action.

Governor Markell was joined by DNREC Secretary David Small, DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan, University of Delaware Dean of the College of Earth, Ocean and the Environment Dr. Nancy Targett, Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee, Delaware Director of The Nature Conservancy Richie Jones, Mayor of the City of Lewes Ted Becker and other partners to underscore the causes and consequences of climate change and the work underway to reduce climate impacts.

“Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge we face.  By taking strategic actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare Delaware to be more resilient, we are ensuring public safety, improving public health, supporting new jobs, growing the economy and conserving our natural resources,” said Governor Markell. “I want to thank the Cabinet Committee on Climate and Resiliency and the technical workgroups for their diligence in preparing the Climate Framework. Our efforts to address climate change not only impact Delawareans today, but will have lasting benefits for our quality of life and the lives of our children and grandchildren.”

In September 2013, Governor Markell signed Executive Order 41 that created the Cabinet Committee on Climate and Resiliency (CCoCAR) comprised of leadership from 11 state agencies and departments. EO 41 tasked the committee with addressing the causes and consequences of climate change by developing actionable recommendations that:
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change;
• increase resilience to climate impacts; and
• avoid and minimize flood risks due to sea level rise.

The Climate Framework was developed using the best available science, including Delaware’s 2014 Climate Change Impact Assessment and the Delaware Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment. The Framework summarizes the work completed under EO 41 and includes recommendations from three technical workgroups – Greenhouse Gas Mitigation, Climate Change Adaptation and Flood Avoidance. With today’s release of the Framework, next steps will be gathering feedback on the recommendations, including a public comment period through May 30 and an engagement workshop scheduled for next month.

“Thanks to the leadership of Governor Markell, Delaware has made tremendous strides in transitioning to a clean energy economy and a sustainable natural and built environment,” said David Small, Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and Chair of CCoCAR. “The Climate Framework for Delaware provides a path forward based on sound science that will ensure Delaware is resilient to the changes we are already experiencing, prepare us for future climate impacts and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.”

Today’s event drew attention to six years of action by Delaware’s leadership in responsibly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving the state’s resilience and addressing statewide flooding caused by sea level rise. In his remarks, Gov. Markell highlighted Delaware’s significant progress in working across many sectors to reduce emissions through investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, implementing transportation policy and enhancements.  As a result, Delaware has decreased emissions by a greater percentage than any other state in the nation – about 25% from 2008 to 2011 – and increased deployment of solar technology from 2 megawatts in 2008 to 60 MW today.

In addition, Gov. Markell outlined Delaware’s extensive progress in increasing resilience and preparing for climate impacts through a range of projects, activities and policies including protection of wetlands and shorelines, developing more protective standards for flood plain management and restoring coastal impoundments and dikes along the Delaware River and Bay.

Climate change is affecting Delaware now, with increasing temperatures and rainfall, increased flooding from extreme precipitation and rising sea levels. These changes are expected to continue and be more serious in the future. Delaware has the lowest average land elevation in the United States and a significant percentage of the population living along 381 miles of shoreline vulnerable to coastal erosion, storm surge, flooding, saltwater intrusion and tidal wetland losses, all of which will be exacerbated by sea level rise. Rising temperatures and particularly extreme heat events increase the risk of serious illness, especially for the state’s most vulnerable citizens. Temperature and rainfall extremes pose serious challenges for the state’s agriculture and tourism economies, as well as imposing increasing costs for maintaining and repairing critical infrastructure.

“As stewards of Delaware’s transportation infrastructure, we must be planning for the reality that the global climate is changing, that it will have local consequences and that it will require action on our part to protect the state’s transportation system,” said DelDOT Secretary Cohan. “And, I believe that the Climate Framework represents constructive leadership for the actions we must take.”

“The primary challenge in potential climate change impacts on agriculture is adapting the genetic base of crops to perform in warmer and perhaps drier climate regimes, modifying production practices for livestock to fit in new climate regimes, and recognizing that irrigation resources may become even more critical to profitable food production systems,” said Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee. “By identifying the potential range of climate change, the science behind agriculture can work with the agricultural community to cope with that change.”

“By leveraging our combined expertise, resources and efforts, we have made great progress in preparing for and responding to climate change,” said Dr. Nancy Targett, Dean of the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment and Director of Delaware Sea Grant. “Data from recent surveys tell us that Delawareans are concerned and want action.  If we continue the momentum of our combined efforts, use the Governor’s Climate Framework to steer our efforts, and base our decisions on innovative research, Delaware will be poised to make its communities, businesses, and natural resources more resilient to climate impacts.”

The Climate Framework includes recommendations from the three technical workgroups:

• Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Workgroup: Recommended the state adopt a target of 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the 2008 baseline by 2030.

• Climate Change Adaptation Workgroup: Proposed more than 150 recommendations for a wide range of actions that address public health and safety needs, impacts to facilities and infrastructure and capacity to deliver services to constituents in Delaware. Adaptation recommendations are actions that state agencies can take within their departments and with assisting businesses and residents to adapt and prepare for more extreme storms and increasing temperatures and precipitation variations expected over the next several decades.

• Flood Avoidance Workgroup: Developing technical guidance and tools for use by state agencies for the siting and design of structures and infrastructure, with an emphasis on avoiding current and future flood risk. These tools include a Flood Risk Adaptation Map that depicts flood exposure from a combination of sea level rise and coastal storms. In addition, the workgroup identified existing state programs, policies and tools that will help ensure compliance with guidelines.

“As a State Director for The Nature Conservancy, I am exposed to the panoply of responses various states and countries are mounting in response to a changing climate,” said Richie Jones, Delaware State Director for TNC. “The multi-pronged approach outlined in Governor Markell’s Climate Framework – reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the First State while simultaneously strengthening the ability of our natural systems to buffer against rising seas, coastal storms and flooding – is among the most progressive and well-conceived I have seen. We commend the Governor and DNREC for taking a leadership role on this defining issue and pledge our support in advancing the Framework as we move into an ever uncertain future.”

“Lewes’ first core value recognizes this community’s unique relationship with the sea. That historic connection has helped to foster the realization that we must make adaptations to many aspects of climate change and hazard mitigation, as they impact Lewes. As a result, not only have we made changes to our city code and regulations, but we have also undertaken an ongoing program to educate and engage our residents as we prepare for the future,” said Mayor Ted Becker of the City of Lewes.

The Framework is posted online for public comments until May 30, 2015 at www.de.gov/climateframework. In addition, an engagement workshop for local governments, stakeholder organizations and the public will be held next month in Dover. The workshop will include an overview of the Framework and the activities completed by each Workgroup, followed by a breakout session to gather public feedback on adaptation recommendations. For more information on climate change visit http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/energy/Pages/Climate.aspx and sea level rise, visit www.de.gov/sealevelrise.

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Says Delaware’s success shows proposal can work nationally

Washington, DC – Speaking at one of four sites of nationwide public hearings on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power plan, Governor Markell emphasized the environmental and economic benefits of the proposal to reduce dirty emissions from the nation’s power plants by 30 percent by 2030. (Text of his prepared remarks is below.)

Markell noted that Delaware cut these emissions faster than any other state by shutting down or fuel-switching the state’s dirtiest power plants while also placing a greater focus on renewable energy sources, promoting energy efficiency, and working in partnership with other states in the region. All of these efforts would be encouraged by EPA’s approach, which provides guidelines, but gives states flexibility to design a program that makes the most sense for their unique situations.

The Governor also alluded to the impact of powerful weather events like Superstorm Sandy that will occur more frequently if climate change continues unabated.

“Governors do not have the luxury of pretending climate change is not causing real damage,” said Markell. “We are on the front lines of hurricanes, wildfires, droughts and other natural disasters. We see the property that is devastated and the cost of addressing the damage after the fact. We live with the consequences of inaction. Our families and businesses can’t afford to wait and see what happens next before we act. I’m thrilled the EPA has issued this new rule and I look forward to its implementation.”

Following his testimony today, Markell joined U.S. Senator Ed Markey (MA) and other supporters outside the hearing room at the William Jefferson Clinton Building to highlight the importance of this initiative to address climate change, clean up the air, create jobs, and reduce asthma attacks in children and other health problems.

Reverend Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, Cristobal Alex of the Latino Victory Fund, the Green Latinos’ Mark Magaña, and Dr. Cindy Parker, a physician and professor at Johns Hopkins, also participated to outline the health implications of carbon pollution and other impacts of climate change.  The event was organized by a broad coalition of groups including Moms Clean Air Force, Interfaith Power & Light, National Wildlife Federation, the Climate Action Coalition, and Sierra Club.

The Clean Power Plan would be implemented through a state-federal partnership under which states use current or new electricity production and pollution control policies to meet state-specific goals to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, which accounts for roughly one-third of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. States can choose the right mix of: power generation using diverse fuels, including renewables; energy efficiency initiatives; and multi-state plans. The initiative’s emissions reductions would reduce the impact of climate change on communities, improve public health, and create jobs in manufacturing, construction, and research.

Governor Markell Testimony at Public Hearing on EPA’s Clean Power Plan

Remarks as prepared for delivery

I’m Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware, and I’m testifying in support of the Clean Power Plan not because of what we think might be possible with this policy change, but because we know what this plan can do for the nation. The EPA’s proposal to address climate change would mean cleaner air; better health; more research, manufacturing and construction jobs; and more efficient, less costly energy.

We know that because we see all of this happening in Delaware, where, over the past five years, we’ve shifted from one of the dirtiest energy mixes in the nation to one of the cleanest. We have decreased emissions by a greater percentage than any other state, while creating jobs at the same time. And we have done so with the same approach the president proposes for the country. We shut down or fuel-switched nine out of our ten dirtiest power plants, while the remaining unit installed hundreds of millions of dollars in pollution controls. We’ve increased deployment of solar technology 30 times since 2008. And we’ve strengthened building codes and spurred more than $100 million in efficiency upgrades. We’ve also worked with states throughout the region to dramatically cut carbon pollution. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative has used a market-based system to help reduce carbon pollution from power plants in our states by more than 40 percent since 2005.

EPA’s plan will stimulate more of all of this activity across the nation. It lets states use solutions that work best for us individually to reduce dirty emissions, recognizing that power plants produce more of those emissions than any other source in the country. As one example of what our strategy has meant for Delaware, I recently visited a site in Dover where hundreds of people are working to build a natural gas power-generating facility for Calpine Energy. Calpine has made it a priority to transition away from the power plants that produce the most emissions. Yes, they do it because they care about the environment. But they also do it because it’s good for their bottom line. In addition, facilities like the one in Dover will produce cost-effective energy that reduces energy bills while making our state more attractive to manufacturers.

In fact, across the country, it’s projected that the Clean Power Plan would shrink electricity bills by about eight percent by increasing efficiency and reducing demand. The economic benefits of this plan go far beyond the impact on individual energy companies or consumers’ bills. A report last month on the economic risks of climate change illustrates the widespread effects – including damage to the agriculture and energy sectors, as well as to coastal communities, public health and our labor productivity. And all of this damage costs us a lot of money.

In Delaware, we have seen how rising sea levels, more powerful and frequent storms, and other extreme weather conditions put families and businesses at risk. Our largest industry – agriculture – faces severe conditions that harm crops. And, as the lowest-lying state in the nation, climate change could literally put much of Delaware under water.

All states face their own challenges. Governors do not have the luxury of pretending climate change is not causing real damage. We are on the front lines of hurricanes, wildfires, droughts and other natural disasters. We see the property that is devastated and the cost of addressing the damage after the fact. We live with the consequences of inaction. Our families and businesses can’t afford to wait and see what happens next before we act. I’m thrilled that the EPA has issued this new rule and I look forward to its implementation. Thank you.

PHOTOS from the event

President Releases Plan to Cut Carbon Pollution

Dover, DE –   The following is a statement from Governor Markell in support of President Obama’s Climate Change Action Plan, announced today:

“President Obama’s common sense approach will help address climate change, improve air quality, and help Delaware’s economy by supporting manufacturing and construction jobs,” said Delaware Governor Jack Markell.  “Over the past few years, Delaware has reduced emissions more than any other state in the nation by cleaning up dirty power plants and replacing them with cleaner natural gas plants, renewable energy facilities, and energy efficiency.  (Today we dedicated one such facility in Dover). It is time that we saw other states – states whose facilities hurt our air quality – make the same kind of improvements.”

“As low-lying coastal state, Delawareans have seen the devastation caused by extreme weather events and know that the cost of taking the strategic steps laid out by the President today will be a fraction of the costs of inaction.  We know that we cannot address this challenge alone and we will now have a full federal partner in our effort to protect our state.”

“The President’s plan also aligns perfectly with the leadership of the states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which has demonstrated that reducing carbon pollution can be done cost-effectively and produce cost-savings and construction jobs through investments in energy efficiency.  By leveraging the ongoing work in Delaware and throughout the east coast, the President will help strengthen local economies today and ensure that we pass on a healthy planet to future generations.   We applaud him for his leadership.”