Climate Fast Facts: South Carolina

Climate and Energy Resources

• Latest Climate Science (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Global Warming & South Carolina (National Wildlife Federation)
• Energy By the Numbers- South Carolina (World Resources Institute)
  
• Cost of Delay (Environmental Defense Fund)
• Meeting the International Clean Energy and Climate Change Challenges (The White House)

Jobs

Clean energy job opportunities have skyrocketed in South Carolina (job growth of 36.2%), 16 times faster than total jobs. The state would realize $2.0 billion in investment revenue and 25,000 jobs if there was an $150 billion investment in clean energy nationwide, reducing the state's unemployment rate by 1.1 percent.

• Clean-Energy Investments Create Jobs in South Carolina (Center for American Progress/PERI)
• South Carolina: Green Prosperity and Poverty Reduction (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Job Growth in Renewable Energy Manufacturing in South Carolina (Blue Green Alliance)
• Clean Energy Jobs in South Carolina (Environmental Defense Fund)
• Clean Energy and Climate Policies Lead to Economic Growth in South Carolina (Environmental Entrepreneurs)

Opportunity

The state could realize 4,964 jobs manufacturing wind turbines and $1.65 billion investment in the wind industry alone if 50,000 MW of new wind energy is created on a national scale.

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

• Southeast Energy Opportunities: Renewable Energy Opportunities in South Carolina (World Resources Institute, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)

• Charting a New Path for South Carolina’s Electricity Generation and Use (National Wildlife Federation)
• The Clean Energy Economy: South Carolina (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: South Carolina
  

Cut Costs

The average family in South Carolina would save $4.85 per month on their energy bills and $21.92 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)

• Southeast Energy Opportunities: Water and Watts in South Carolina (World Resources Institute, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)

• Carbon Cap Critics Predict Healthy Economy in South Carolina under Cap-and-Trade (PERI Report)
• Clean Energy, Green Jobs: A National Renewable Electricity Standard Will Boost the Economy and Protect the Environment (Union of Concerned Scientists)

Climate Consequences

Degraded air quality and increased heat waves will result in increased heart and lung disease and heat stroke. Heavy rainfalls will increase exponentially, with big storms historically seen only once every 20 years instead coming every 4 to 6 years by the end of the century. Flooding will be especially devastating for crops and lead to increased cases of waterborne diseases.

• Human Health Impacts of Global Warming on South Carolina (Pew Center)
• More Variable and Uncertain Water Supply: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for the Southeastern United States (National Wildlife Federation)
• Global Climate Change Impacts on the U.S.: Southeast Assessment (Union of Concerned Scientists)

• Don't Rig Our Coastal Economy: The Threat from Offshore Drilling (Sierra Club)

• 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)
• Climate Change and South Carolina's Economy

State Action

While Congress deliberates climate legislation on the Hill, South Carolina has enacted its own policies such as providing financial incentives promoting biofuels and releasing a state climate action plan.

• South Carolina Climate Action Plan
• Repower South Carolina (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

• Santee Drops Coal Plans (The Sun)
• IN FOCUS: Energy (The State)
• Clean Energy and Cap-and-Trade Good for South Carolina (The Greenville News)
• Clean Energy Legislation Needed to Address National Security Issues (Post and Courier)