New York and the New England states have adopted aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals. Deep decarbonization will be required to achieve these goals, and the region has made substantial progress. Emissions from energy use in these seven states in 2015 was 19 percent less than 2001 emissions. However, there’s still a long way to go: the region’s collective objectives will require emission reductions of about 80 percent below 2001 levels.
To date, state and market actions that reduce GHG emissions have focused on the electric supply sector and on increasing energy efficiency. But even enhanced energy efficiency and carbon-free electricity can reduce regional emissions by only about 40 percent by 2050—half the amount required. In other words, 2050 emissions would still be triple the target level. The remaining emissions result from direct fuel use in buildings, transportation, and industry.