Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has signed onto a global compact – called the Under 2 MOU agreement – among cities, states and provinces worldwide to limit the increase in global average temperature to below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Malloy said in a statement that “Connecticut has set an aggressive goal for reducing carbon emissions to combat climate change,” and that signing the compact will align the state with other jurisdictions to reduce the threat of climate change.
Signatories to the compact agree to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions 80 to 95 percent below 1990 levels or limit to two metric tons CO2-equivalent per capita, by 2050. Connecticut’s own statutory climate reduction target requires emissions reductions of at least 80 percent economy-wide by 2050 from 2001 levels.
Under the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act, Connecticut is committed to reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent from 2001 levels by 2050. The adopted legislation also contained an interim goal of a 10 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2020, which the state achieved in 2012 – eight years ahead of schedule.
Connecticut joins New Hampshire, California, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington as states to sign the agreement. The Under 2 MOU has now been signed or endorsed by 65 jurisdictions representing 20 countries and five continents, collectively representing 588 million people and more than $17.96 trillion in gross domestic product (23 percent of the world’s total GDP).
