On December 23, 2008, the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Commission (ICCAC) released its final report. The ICCAC was established through SF 485 in 2007 and HF 2571 in 2008 and directed to create a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the report, the ICCAC offers two scenarios that would reduce emissions 50 percent and 90 percent from a 2005 baseline by 2050, respectively. A range of short- and mid- term emissions targets are also provided for each of the scenarios.
The ICCAC identified 56 policy options to achieve emissions reductions and determined that following all 56 would achieve the more stringent reduction scenario. Policy options include a number of energy efficiency goals, to be achieved through incentives offered to utilities, utility customers, or other stakeholders, as well as through other strategies such as revised building codes and government lead-by-example initiatives. Among the policy recommendations for clean and renewable energy is a Generation Performance Standard that would mandate reductions in carbon intensity for electricity suppliers. In the transportation sector, the ICCAC recommends providing incentives to improve the fuel economy of the light-duty vehicle fleet, implementing fuel economy and tailpipe emissions standards established in federal law, and creating a Low Carbon Fuel Standard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of fuel energy by 20 percent. Agricultural policies include the use of biomass, methane capture, and land management for sequestration. The ICCAC also recommends participating in a cap-and-trade program, ideally on a federal scale but otherwise through the Midwestern Governors Association’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord.
Press Release
ICCAC Report
Pew Climate Action Plan page
