Governor Jim Doyle has received an interim report from the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming recommending early action steps to address global warming challenges in Wisconsin.
Recommendations in the report include investigating and adopting new, innovative utility ratemaking polices that promote energy conservation and efficiency, and the creation of new energy efficiency standards for residential and commercial buildings.
Other recommendations in the interim report include:
- Positioning Wisconsin government as a leader by implementing greenhouse gas reduction strategies across all state agencies and universities
- Legislation requiring rental properties to install energy efficient lighting in common areas and wall-mounted fixtures
- Creation of the Wisconsin Greenhouse Gas Reduction Initiative, a voluntary program to motivate and enable individuals, communities, farms and other businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions
- A study to explore the possibility of pumping carbon dioxide from power plants into the ground or sending it by pipeline to other states
- Legislation to create uniform standards for sitting wind systems
- A study to look at the technical and economic potential for erecting wind turbines on Lakes Michigan and Superior
The task force submitted an interim report with early action steps after determining that the sooner greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, the easier it will be to address the need for substantial long-term reductions in a cost-effective manner. A final report to the Governor is anticipated to be released this summer.
While the interim report’s recommendations concentrate primarily on the state’s electric generation sector, the final report is expected to address all sectors contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, including transportation, buildings, land-use planning and development, agriculture, forestry, industry and electric generation.
In April 2007, Governor Jim Doyle signed Executive Order #191 to create a Task Force on Global Warming and bring together a prominent and diverse group of key Wisconsin business, industry, government, energy and environmental organizations to examine the effects of—and solutions to—global warming in Wisconsin. Doyle tasked the group with finding ways to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 80 percent by 2050.
