Climate Fast Facts: Alaska

Climate & Energy Resources

• Latest Climate Science (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Global Warming & Alaska (National Wildlife Federation)
• Cost of Delay (Environmental Defense Fund)
• Meeting the International Clean Energy and Climate Change Challenges (The White House)

Jobs

Alaska’s clean energy economy has gotten off to a promising start. The state could gain 4,000 jobs and about $350 million in investment revenue if $150 billion was invested in clean energy nationwide, and drop unemployment by 1.1 percent.

• Clean-Energy Investments Create Jobs in Alaska (Center for American Progress/PERI)
• Alaska: Green Prosperity and Poverty Reduction (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Clean Energy and Climate Policies Lead to Economic Growth in Alaska (Environmental Entrepreneurs)

Opportunity

Alaska’s clean energy industries have grown nearly 10 percent in the past decade, steadily increasing despite the lack of venture capital investments and clean technology patents. Under the ACES bill Alaska would receive $319 million for expanded energy efficiency investments, $326 million for natural gas efficiency investments.

• ACES Funding for Efficiency Investments- AK (Environment Northeast)
• The Clean Energy Economy: Alaska (Pew Center)
• Renewable Energy Works: Alaska

Cut Costs

The average family in Alaska would save $6.18 per month on their energy bills and $5.48 per month on vehicle fuel costs if the American Clean Energy and Security Act was enacted.

• Climate Bill Cuts Electricity Bills (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Climate-Protection Policies Cut Fuel Bills (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Summary of Competitiveness Provisions in ACES (Center for Clean Air Policy)
• Carbon Cap Critics Predict Healthy Economy in Alaska under Cap-and-Trade (PERI/UMASS)
• Clean Energy, Green Jobs: A National Renewable Electricity Standard Will Boost the Economy and Protect the Environment (Union of Concerned Scientists)

Climate Consequences

Perhaps no other state will be more affected by climate change than Alaska. It is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the U.S., with average annual increases of 3.4°F with winters alone rising 6.4°F. Permafrost and snow-cover are shrinking and glacial melt is contorting the native marine ecosystem.

• Global Climate Change Impacts on Alaska (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Protecting Alaska’s Economy, Communities, and Environment from Global Warming (The Wilderness Society)
• Climate Change Impacts on Alaska (World Wildlife Fund)
• Hotter Fields, Lower Yields: Global Warming's Impact on Agriculture (Environment America)
• Alaska’s Biggest Tundra Fire Sparks Climate Warning (New Scientist)
• Climate Change in the United States: The Prohibitive Costs of Inaction (Union of Concerned Scientists)

State Actions

While Congress debates climate and energy legislation on the Hill, Alaska has created a state climate action plan, and has provided financial incentives promoting biofuels.

• Alaska Climate Action Plan
• Repower Alaska (Alliance for Climate Protection)
• State Action on Global Warming (Pew Center on Climate Change) (see maps on state actions)

Regulating Carbon Markets

• Five Reasons Why Trading Allowances Will Help Meet Our Climate Objectives (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• The Senate’s Role in Getting Carbon Market Regulation Right (Natural Resources Defense Council)

News and Opinion