Environmental Leader

The Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council recently released its final report which suggests two scenarios to cut the state’s GHG emissions by up to 90 percent by 2050, the Associated Press reports (via Yahoo! Finance).

In the first scenario, Iowa would adopt a plan for a 50 percent emissions reduction by 2050, with interim goals of 1 percent by 2012 and 11 percent 2020.

The other goal would require the state to cut emissions 90 percent by 2050, with interim goals of 3 percent by 2012 and 22 percent by 2020. Both scenarios were based on the state’s 2005 emissions levels.

The report also included 56 policy options that, if carried out, would help meet the second scenario goals. The policy proposals would require the energy industry, which is responsible for 31 percent of the state’s GHG emissions, to cut CO2 emissions and increase usage of renewable energy sources.

The state was one of 18 states that sued the EPA last year for failing to act on greenhouse gases.