As the year winds down, it’s a good time to take stock of climate policy in the United States. Here’s a quick round up of what happened – or didn’t happen – in 2011.
The year began with big questions about what the Obama Administration and states would do to address climate change and clean energy, absent a comprehensive federal climate policy. This year’s record was decidedly mixed. Not as much happened as some would have liked, but it was in total better than many feared as the year began.
The clearest objective benchmark is how well the U.S. is doing against the administration’s target of reducing emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Our assessment is that the administration is making progress to keep the 17 percent target within sight, but it will require a sustained effort in 2012 and beyond to reach the goal.
Read the full summary from World Resources Institute here.
