Louisiana is Used to Being Last. Here’s One Area Where We Lead the South.
Gov. John Bel Edwards talks about the year 2021 in review and updates various topics at his end of the year press conference at the Governor’s Mansion. (Photo by Bill Feig)
Two events have always stood as positive game-changers in the history of Louisiana’s struggle to save some of its sinking, eroding and drowning coastal zone.
The first was Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana’s success convincing the state’s business community that this environmental crisis would lead to economic disaster.
The second was creation of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to develop an ecosystem-wide plan to get the job done.
And now there could be a third: A plan developed by Gov. John Bel Edwards’ Climate Initiatives Task Force to get the state’s contribution to the fossil fuel emissions that are causing the rapid acceleration of sea level rise to “net zero” by 2050.
The draft released last week is based on three pillars:
- Moving electricity production to renewable sources such as solar and wind.
- Moving light industries and manufacturing to renewable energy sources.
- Moving industries requiring high-heat processes—such as the petrochemical sector—to low or no-carbon hydrogen.
I include the “could be” caveat because, like the coastal master plan, success will depend on buy-in from the politicians we send to Baton Rouge and Washington.
The final edition of the plan will include dissenting opinions from members of the task force, which included the usual stakeholders from businesses and the environmental community as well as scientists. But the framework and pillars released are what the governor’s office will be pushing.
And make no mistake: Its success is essential to keeping the bottom third of Louisiana—its industrial and population base—viable through this century.
Read the rest of the article at The Times-Picayune.
