Global Warming In the News

New Hampshire received a failing grade from environmental groups yesterday for not reducing greenhouse gas emissions and was ranked the worst among New England states and eastern Canadian provinces for not doing enough to address climate change.

Environmental groups released a report grading the six New England states and five Canadian provinces that signed a pledge six years ago to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 75 percent by the middle of the century. They analyzed pollution levels and policy.

Although New Hampshire has made progress, the report said the state's emissions have increased more since 1990 than any other state's, as much as 49 percent, giving it an F. None of the states or provinces fared well in this category. Massachusetts, where emissions declined 1 percent since 1990, received the highest grade, a C.

But it may owe some of that to its neighbor to the north. Power produced in southern New Hampshire is used over the border.

Transportation accounts for the largest percentage of carbon dioxide emissions in New Hampshire, and workers commuting from homes in the southern tier to offices in Boston are a major contributor, said Doug Bogen, program director for New Hampshire Clean Water Action.

"It's not quite as cut-and-dry as saying, New Hampshire is horrible," Bogen said.

Bogen said none of the states are on track to reach the intermediary goal of cutting emissions to 1990 levels by 2010. He said New Hampshire must now focus on a reduction of 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

"If we don't get there, we're never going to get to the long-term goal," he said.

The states and provinces fared better in the policy efforts they've made to work toward that goal, receiving B's and C's. New Hampshire earned a C-, up from a D- last year.

That rating included measurements of whether the state has established a plan for conserving energy, led by example, taken an effort to reduce energy demand, promoted public awareness, and reduced emissions in the electricity and transportation sectors.

"The good news here is there is improvement over last year's score," Bogen said. "But the bad news is that it still leaves New Hampshire at the back of the class."

Erika Staaf of Environment New Hampshire said the state has made progress. She highlighted efforts to make the state fleet and buildings more energy efficient and a bill passed in April that will require at least 23 percent of New Hampshire's power to come from renewable sources by 2025.

She said that the state also added minimum-energy-efficiency standards to its building code and that a Senate committee will soon consider creating an efficiency standard for appliances.

"This is a great first step," Staaf said.

Colin Manning, a spokesman for Gov. John Lynch, said the report card doesn't give those efforts and others enough credit. He said Lynch is finalizing an executive order to create a taskforce to come up with a climate action plan outlining how New Hampshire is affected by climate change and what else the state can do. He said its release is imminent.

Whether a state has a climate action plan was one significant factor in the grading. Another for the New England states was whether they have acted on their commitments to a 10-state, first-in-the-nation regional partnership to cut carbon dioxide emissions, called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Maine, for example, which received a B-, has passed legislation implementing the goals of RGGI. The New Hampshire Legislature will take up a bill next year to cap carbon and require polluters to buy credits for the carbon that they do emit. The money would go to energy-efficiency projects.

Staaf and Bogen said RGGI is critical to New Hampshire's effort to combat climate change.

The working legislation "is not perfect," Bogen said. "But it's pretty darn good, and what we're looking for is to not see it weakened."

Quebec received the highest grade on the policy side, a B+. The province has introduced North America's first tax on carbon emissions.