New research using the Virginia Energy Policy Simulator developed by Energy Innovation and Rocky Mountain Institute evaluates the Virginia Clean Economy Act, showing it will cut power sector emissions nearly 100 percent and statewide emissions nearly 35 percent by 2050. While the VCEA will accelerate the state’s power sector decarbonization, it will fall short of the emissions reductions required to put Virginia on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recommended pathway to limit warming to 1.5° Celsius. Implementing additional policies across the transportation, buildings, industrial, land, and agricultural sectors can transition the state to a low-carbon economy while generating significant economic and health benefits. By 2050, the policies in this package would create more than 12,000 job-years and increase Virginia’s GDP by more than $3.5 billion per year.
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