Full Title: The Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges
Author(s): Sierra Club
Publisher(s): Sierra Club
Publication Date: October 19, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
To address the climate crisis, utilities must transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. Sierra Club published the first Dirty Truth Report in 2021, evaluating utility plans to transition to clean energy based on their commitments to retire coal, build clean energy, and not build new gas through 2030. In 2021, these utilities failed to plan for the clean energy transition, scoring an aggregate of 17 out of 100. Unfortunately, instead of correcting course, many
utilities continue to fail to appropriately prepare for a clean energy future, wasting time as the clean energy transition becomes more urgent. This failure has led to the timing and cost challenges that these companies are now trying to use as excuses to remain reliant on fossil fuels.
The solutions to move away from fossil fuels exist today. Utilities are well positioned to take action with cost reductions in clean energy, strong public support for the clean energy transition, and government support for climate solutions through the provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and other programs. Furthermore, the Biden administration has committed the US to achieve 100 percent clean electricity by 2035, with an important milestone of 80 percent clean electricity by 2030.
As we approach the final decade leading up to 2035, utilities must take full advantage of clean energy incentives, and regulators and leaders at the local, state, and federal levels must continue pushing utilities to plan for the future we need. As such, our latest Dirty Truth assessment extends the timeline for utilities to build clean energy and not build new gas from 2030 to 2035. This reflects the fact that four years have passed since the first evaluation and aligns the Sierra Club’s evaluation with the Biden administration’s 2035 clean energy target.