Climate Matters•September 20, 2023
Climate Week, Climate Solutions
KEY CONCEPTS
It’s Climate Week NYC, with public events and U.N. meetings focused on climate action.
All 50 states have warmed since 1970, but many are cutting carbon pollution for a safer future.
Climate Central’s WeatherPower tool forecasts daily solar and wind energy generation in each state — and shows the year-on-year growth of clean energy across the U.S.
Other Climate Central resources cover leading local solutions to global climate change.
Climate Week, Climate Action
It’s Climate Week NYC. This event overlaps with the annual gathering of leaders from 193 countries at the United Nations (U.N.) headquarters in New York.
Climate change is high on the U.N. agenda for the week — including during a Climate Ambition Summit on September 20.
Whether in formal U.N. meetings or during hundreds of Climate Week NYC events, climate action is a major focus this week.
Climate Central has data-driven tools and resources showing progress and further potential for action across the U.S.
Progress toward a clean energy future
Climate Central’s WeatherPower™ tool forecasts daily solar and wind generation across the U.S.
WeatherPower combines information about local installed solar and wind capacity with observed and forecasted weather data (specifically, local wind speeds and solar irradiance).
The tool produces graphics showing potential clean energy generated each day in states, cities, counties, or congressional districts across the contiguous U.S.
Check your WeatherPower forecast by state, county, or congressional district, and learn more about the tool.
Go deeper with WeatherPower: 2022 in Review. In 2022, the U.S. generated enough wind and solar energy to power the equivalent of 64 million households, according to Climate Central analysis. That’s up 16% from 2021. Download graphics for your state’s wind and solar energy.
Warming and solutions in every state
Heat-trapping gases have built-up in the atmosphere mainly due to fossil fuel burning and land use changes like deforestation, causing global temperatures to rise and putting people and ecosystems at risk around the world.
In the U.S., all 50 states have warmed since 1970 — by 2.6°F on average. But many states are cutting carbon pollution to ensure a safer future.
States have already reduced emissions by 19% on average, from 2005 to 2020. But accelerated action is needed to meet the national target: reducing emissions 50% (compared to 2005 levels) by 2030, and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
Find graphics in: Climate Solutions in Every State which reviews options to quickly reduce emissions in each U.S. state’s top-emitting sector.
The future we choose — the solutions we use
Climate change continues to affect lives across the U.S. and around the globe—through more frequent billion-dollar disasters, rising health risks, and extreme heat boosted by carbon pollution.
Today’s climate impacts, which reflect about 1.2°C (2.2°F) of global warming, are bound to worsen with every bit of additional heat-trapping carbon pollution. This is why nearly 200 countries have agreed to keep global warming well below 2°C (3.6°F) with an aspirational limit of 1.5°C (2.7°F).
Warming Across Generations shows how much warming younger generations in 242 U.S. locations could experience over their lifetimes if carbon pollution either continues, or is cut rapidly.
This analysis shows the powerful effect of the choices we make now. The data show that, if we commit to rapid and sustained cuts in carbon pollution now, it could set younger generations on a radically different path—toward a far safer future with less warming and fewer risky extreme events.
Many of the tools we need to choose this safer future are already available.
Learn more about solutions that can bring the U.S. closer to net-zero emissions by 2050—and ensure a safer future for younger generations, including:
FIND EXPERTS
Submit a request to SciLine from the American Association for the Advancement of Science or to the Climate Data Concierge from Columbia University. These free services rapidly connect journalists to relevant scientific experts.
Browse maps of climate experts and services at regional NOAA, USDA, and Department of the Interior offices.
Explore databases such as 500 Women Scientists, BIPOC Climate and Energy Justice PhDs, and Diverse Sources to find and amplify diverse expert voices.
Reach out to your State Climate Office or the nearest Land-Grant University to connect with scientists, educators, and extension staff in your local area.