Following the Obama administration’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the run up to COP 21, Tom Plant will discuss how the US is moving towards a low carbon economy. His seminar will cover the role of individual states, the emerging carbon market, technological developments and government policy.
Abstract
Attention is focused on the upcoming Paris 2015 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 21) and commitments from throughout the world. The Obama Administration has announced an aggressive commitment on the part of the United States to reduce greenhouse gases and a unique agreement on greenhouse gas reductions with China.
Tom Plant’s talk will focus on these commitments within the context of action in the United States. Tom served as both a state legislator in Colorado (1999-2007) and the Energy Secretary for the state under Governor Bill Ritter (2007-2011).
He will discuss the unique and important role of US states in moving toward a low carbon future for the USA. Including the actions states have taken and will undertake under the new regulations from the US Environmental Protection Agency (Clean Power Plan), the emerging carbon market in the US, technological developments to advance a clean energy future and trends in US policy. Tom will also discuss some of the political realities in the US in the face of changing energy markets and what it means for the future of US emissions.
Speaker biography
Tom Plant is a Senior Policy Advisor at the Center for the New Energy Economy, Colorado State University.
Tom served for eight years (1999-2007) in the Colorado state legislature. During this time, he spent two years as Chairman of the House Appropriations committee and one year as Chairman of the Joint Budget Committee. He was named Legislator of the Year by organizations such as the University of Colorado and the Sierra Club of Colorado, was the recipient of Colorado Conservation Voters’ “Green Sense Award for Environmental Leadership.”, and received the “Champion of the Family Farmer” award from the Rocky Mountain Farmers’ Union.
In 2007, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter appointed Tom to his Cabinet directing the Governor’s Energy Office as Energy Secretary for the State. During his tenure directing the energy office, fifty-seven bills were passed to usher in a new era of clean energy. In the administration’s four years from 2007 to 2011, Colorado moved from a lagging state for renewable energy and energy efficiency to a national leader with an international reputation for policy leadership and a vibrant and growing renewable energy industry.
A study in 2009 found Colorado was home to over 1,500 clean energy companies, the fourth highest concentration of clean energy jobs in the country. Colorado also attracted Vestas’ North American manufacturing headquarters, employing over 2,500 workers.
Prior to Directing the Energy Office and while serving in the state legislature, Tom served as the executive director of the Center for ReSource Conservation in Boulder.
In 2011, Governor Ritter established the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University and Tom joined the Center as a Senior Policy Advisor. Tom lives in the small mountain town of Nederland, Colorado with his wife Dawn, dogs Fergus and Tess, and a horse named Chester. He and his wife also own Crosscut Pizzeria & Taphouse – a restaurant in Nederland specializing in wood-fired pizza and craft beers.