The Environmental Protection Agency announced last month new and more stringent vehicle emission standards, which some say could significantly help reduce harmful air pollution in Utah and across the country, as well as accelerating the automobile industry's switch to electric vehicles.

While the agency's rule does not specifically require automakers to increase production of electric vehicles, the agency is saying it is most likely the way for the industry to meet the standards.

Chris Harto, senior sustainability policy analyst for Consumer Reports, said it could lead to some significant changes down the line.

"They could lead to up to two-thirds of new vehicle sales being electric vehicles by 2032," Harto projected. "However, automakers can use other technologies to comply as well, including hybrids and plug-in hybrids."

Harto pointed out they have seen a "rapid growth in consumer demand for electric vehicles," increasing around 350% in the last two years.

According to the EPA, since President Joe Biden took office, the number of EV sales has tripled and the number of available models has doubled.

The EPA's proposed standards promise to rapidly reduce petroleum consumption by cutting the allowable amount of tailpipe emissions new cars can produce. The agency claims these steps will help avoid nearly 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions through 2055, reducing harmful health effects and deaths, especially for those who live close to thoroughfares.

Harto noted the EPA is currently taking public comment on the proposal, and a final rule can be expected by the end of this year or the beginning of next year.

"EPA will then take all of that input that it gets from the public, read it, evaluate it and go back to the drawing board and make some changes to the rules based on that feedback," Harto explained.

Harto added the final rule would then go into effect in 2027. The EPA estimated the benefits of the proposed standards would exceed costs by at least $1 trillion.


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Arizona is ground zero for the 2024 election, but also sits on the front lines of the climate crisis, as the state has seen another year of record-breaking temperatures. One organization says the two issues go hand in hand.

Chispa Arizona executive director Vianey Olivarría said many state and local races in Arizona will have direct impacts on how state leaders not only manage environmental challenges, but also preserve democracy. She contended that Arizona isn't taking full advantage of the natural resources at its disposal.

"When we talk about clean energy, democracy and the future of Arizona, that's what we are talking about," she said. "It's a future where this heat is going to get worse, the pollution is going to get worse - that means that our ability to survive will highly depend on our ability to produce electricity."

She added that voters will get to choose candidates vying for three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission, which has significant power over the state's energy decisions. Olivarría contended that the commission's current members have been voting against the interest of ratepayers and the environment, and siding with utilities.

The commission has said it strives to deliver reliable, cost-effective energy. But just last month, the conservative-leaning commission approved two gas-powered plants.

While the Corporation Commission is supposed to play a significant role in fighting climate change, Olivarría said state legislative races can also make a difference.

"And that is a space that for a long time has become a very 'right-wing' space," she said. "There have been bills in the state Legislature that would take climate change out of our education systems, out of public schools - just talking about it, acknowledging it."

Olivarría said she wants lawmakers to visit the communities disproportionately affected by the urban heat island effect, in which the built environment and a lack of tree canopy makes them more vulnerable to hot weather. Since time is running short before Nov. 5, she reminded folks to vote in person on Election Day, or take their mail-in ballot to a secure dropbox or polling location.

With President Joe Biden in Baltimore today to talk about infrastructure and the climate crisis, the state is in the process of finalizing a new set of energy-use goals for large buildings.

Estimates indicate Maryland's buildings account for around a third of the state's greenhouse gas emissions. To reach goals set under the 2022 Climate Solutions Now Act, the Maryland Department of the Environment has developed energy performance standards for buildings 35,000 square feet and larger.

Veronique Bugnion, CEO of the Maryland-based consulting firm ClearlyEnergy, said performance standards are needed to help cities and states reach climate goals.

"Codes and code improvements are great but there's only so many new buildings being built, and there's an awful lot of existing building stock," Bugnion pointed out. "To tackle the emissions of the existing buildings, new tools were required and that's where building performance standards came from."

There are around 9,000 affected buildings across the state.

Starting next year, building owners will begin reporting energy use to the Maryland Department of the Environment. In 2030 buildings will have to begin meeting interim standards with net-zero emissions set to be required in 2040. Exemptions are available for historic buildings and schools among others.

Bugnion noted one of the virtues of performance standards is allowing flexibility for building owners.

"It really doesn't tell them what to do, it tells them what standard to meet and the standards gradually get more stringent over time," Bugnion explained. "So the first couple years, the expectation is buildings will find ways to do some of the obvious things. But over time, the writing is on the wall that as systems age out, they're going to need to replace them with much more efficient systems."

The department anticipates building owners will eventually convert existing heating and cooling systems to high efficiency electric options such as heat pumps. The energy use data reported next year will be used to calculate Energy Use Intensity Standards which are set to be adopted in 2027.


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A new report grades utilities based on their commitment to transitioning away from fossil fuels.

The Sierra Club has graded utilities on their climate pledges since 2021 in its Dirty Truth report.

It finds marginal improvements nationwide, with utilities only committed to retiring 30% of their coal generation by 2030.

Director of the Sierra Club Idaho chapter Lisa Young said one troubling trend is that some utilities claiming to clean up their power generation are simply switching from coal to natural gas.

"Knowing that our ultimate goal and what we need to be doing to address the climate crisis is not replacing one fossil fuel with another," said Young, "but replacing fossil fuels with 100% clean, renewable energy."

The report graded two utilities in Idaho, giving Idaho Power a 'C' grade and PacifiCorp a 'B' grade.

While it operates in fewer parts of Idaho, PacifiCorp serves a large swath of the West - including parts of California, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Idaho Power and PacifiCorp own a coal-fired power plant in Wyoming, with PacifiCorp in control of two-thirds of the plant.

Young said the utilities planned to convert the plant to gas power, which would have had some slight benefits in the long run.

But PacifiCorp changed its mind this year and said it would continue using coal, deciding to install carbon capture technology instead.

"That's why Idaho Power gets a bad score in this report, because PacifiCorp - the co-owner - is making these poor decisions about continuing to burn coal past 2030," said Young, "and it's impacting Idaho Power and all of us as the customers and everyone in the region."

Young said Idaho Power should push PacifiCorp away from coal.

"Even though it's not the majority owner and this other utility, PacifiCorp, has most of the final say in what's going to happen with that coal plant," said Young, "Idaho Power does have an opportunity here and a point of leverage to really try to shut that coal plant down, and to stop burning coal at that plant."

She also noted that Idaho Power should not put any barriers in the way of rooftop solar so that households can also be part of the renewable energy change.