Climate Fast Facts: Arkansas

Climate and Energy Resources

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

Jobs

The clean energy economy grew 7.8 percent over the last decade  (job growth of 7.8%)  even while the state suffers record job losses in other sectors. A $150 billion clean energy investment across the country would bring 18,000 jobs and about $1.3 billion investment to the state, reducing unemployment by 1.3 percent.

• Clean-Energy Investments Create Jobs in Arkansas (Center for American Progress/PERI)
• Arkansas: Green Prosperity and Poverty Reduction (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Green Prosperity and Poverty Reduction: Little Rock, AR (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Arkansas’ Road to Energy Independence (Blue Green Alliance)
• Clean Energy Jobs in Arkansas (Environmental Defense Fund)
• Clean Energy and Climate Policies Lead to Economic Growth in Arkansas (Environmental Entrepreneurs)

Opportunity

Economic opportunity abounds if Arkansas shifts from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Arkansas could realize as many as 2,119 jobs in the wind and solar manufacturing industries alone and reduce the unemployment rate 3.8 percent from its actual level of 5.1 percent.

• ACES Funding for Efficiency Investments-AR (Environment Northeast)

• Charting a New Path for Arkansas’ Electricity Generation and Use (National Wildlife Federation)
• The Clean Energy Economy: Arkansas (Pew Center)

• Energy Efficiency Program Impacts and Policies in the Southeast (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• The 2009 Report on the Future of The South (Southern Growth Policy Board)
• Renewable Energy Works: Arkansas

Cut Costs

The average family in Arkansas would save $4.40 per month on their energy bills and $17.32 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)
• Analysis of Allowances to States, Energy Consumers Under HR 2454 (World Resources Institute)

• Carbon Cap Critics Predict Healthy Economy in Arkansas 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

If the climate crisis is not addressed, significant health, trade, agricultural and water issues will affect Arkansas. An EPA study reveals degraded air quality, intense heat waves, wildfires, droughts, and extreme rainfall and flooding may plague the state.

• Human Health Impacts of Global Warming on Arkansas (Pew Center)

• Climate Change Impacts on the Southeast: Arkansas Case Study (World Wildlife Fund)

• Global Climate Change Impacts on the U.S.: Southeast Assessment (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Hotter Fields, Lower Yields: Global Warming's Impact on Agriculture (Environment America)

• A Preliminary Analysis of the Effects of HR 2454 on U.S. Agriculture (USDA)

• Climate Change in the United States: The Prohibitive Costs of Inaction (Union of Concerned Scientists)

• Exposed: Social Vulnerability and Climate Change in the U.S. Southeast (Oxfam America)

State Action

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

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

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

• Camden Plant to Trade on Clean Energy (Texarkana Gazette)
• Arkansas Seeing Green as Feds Announce Funds (Stuttgart Daily Leader)