Seth Buck, project manager for the construction of the City of Anderson Transit Center, looks over the array of solar panels that cover the roof of the three-story structure in May 2023. The design also uses ground-source geothermal technology for heating and cooling. Herald Bulletin file photo
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s first comprehensive plan to combat climate change details dozens of projects and policies that could cut greenhouse-gas emissions by nearly 3 million metric tons by 2050.
That’s equivalent to the emissions from roughly 15,000 average homes’ energy use each year for over 25 years.
But most of those proposals are on hold after the Environmental Protection Agency last week denied Indiana’s grant request seeking over $195 million to implement the plan.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management in March completed the Priority Climate Action Plan calling for a major expansion of renewable energy generation and targeted efforts to put more electric vehicles on roads.
The state’s application was one of nearly 300 reviewed by the EPA to award funding from the Inflation Reduction Act’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program.
The federal agency ultimately chose 25 applications impacting 30 states to award $4.3 billion to tackle climate change, improve air quality and advance environmental justice.
“This is a big deal,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi in a statement. “These awards will supercharge American climate progress across sectors — from reaching 100% clean electricity to slashing super-pollutants like methane to harnessing the power of nature.”
FINDING THE FUNDING
The announcement last week left questions about how Indiana would pay for its projects, putting a major damper on state efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions, according to Sam Carpenter, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council. “That funding was absolutely critical,” he said. “As a state, we’ve made very little in those types of investments, so it was critical and disappointing that we didn’t receive it.”
Barry Sneed, public information officer for IDEM, noted his agency was “disappointed” the state was just one of 10 that didn’t receive any of the $4.3 billion grant.
“At this time, it is unclear if or when additional funding opportunities will be available,” Sneed explained in an email.
Carpenter argued that Indiana lawmakers are unlikely to provide funding for climate-change initiatives. The Republican supermajority at the statehouse has shown little appetite to pay for policies that cut emissions, he said.
That’s despite the fact Indiana ranks eighth in the nation for both the total amount of carbon dioxide produced and the amount per capita, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Instead, federal dollars have provided nearly all funding for climate action in the state, and even that amount is lower than what many states receive.
Last year, Indiana was allocated $66 per resident from the Inflation Reduction Act and the federal infrastructure law, according to a report by Atlas Public Policy. More than 30 states received more per capita funding.
Not only have Indiana lawmakers not budgeted tax dollars, the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee has twice refused to consider legislation that would have created a climate solutions task force to study topics such as creating a carbon credit market and funding energy efficiency measures.
The fact that the bill didn’t get a hearing indicates the pushback climate action legislation receives from some Republican lawmakers, argued Sean Mobley, senior policy associate at The Nature Conservancy of Indiana.
IDEM was able to develop the current emission-reduction plan only after receiving $3 million from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program.
The projects laid out in the document came after the state agency solicited input and ideas from a cadre of cities, towns, businesses, nonprofits and residents. It will now take leaders from all those sectors to help find alternate funding sources for projects aimed at reducing emissions, Mobley explained.
That includes $1.25 million spread across five years his nonprofit requested through the application to create a statewide program offering farmers who implement cover crops a $5-per-acre reduction on crop insurance premiums.
“This is not the end of our hope for a statewide program, but we’ll just have to explore other sources of funding in order to get that done,” Mobley said.
Next year could mark a major shift in the state’s climate policy, however. A new governor will be elected and take the reigns in January at the same time lawmakers will begin crafting a new biennial budget that could include more money for climate action. “It’s going to take some political will to move forward on climate goals and greenhouse gas emission goals,” Carpenter said. “Right now, Indiana is not showing that.”
THINKING BIGGER
Work on the state climate action plan isn’t done.
IDEM will continue to accept input and will submit a finalized version next year to the EPA that could include additional measures or initiatives. Notably, the final version will include Indiana’s first detailed greenhouse gas emissions inventory.
Despite losing out on grant dollars, that plan still marks a critical step in blueprinting how government agencies, businesses and communities can work together to reduce pollution, Mobley said.
New federal policies and growing markets that make emission-reduction initiatives more lucrative are driving most of the nation’s climate action, he explained. The state’s plan can help accelerate the adoption of some of those practices.
“I think this plan can be kind of the focusing event to get everyone in this space to think bigger and better when it comes to mitigating and adapting to climate change,” Mobley said.
But, Carpenter argued, a central fault of the plan is that it should have pushed for more aggressive measures that cut emissions even more than the 3 million tons it proposes.
That’s a reason Indiana may have missed out on grant funding, he speculated. The 25 projects approved by the EPA on average will reduce greenhouse gases by 38.8 million tons each.
“Even though I supported the direction of the state plan, I was a little underwhelmed by the level of greenhouse gas reduction they were aiming to cut,” Carpenter said.
The plan also doesn’t include any mandatory requirements for any industry or government agencies, making it uncertain how many would actually participate in proposed projects without grant money to help cover costs.
The no-strings-attached policy was a deliberate decision by IDEM, according to Amanda Mast, a senior manager at ClimeCo, a climate consulting firm contracted by the agency.
She said the goal is to focus on efforts that “communities, companies and individuals will be willing to align to voluntarily due to the benefits these measures bring.”
Mobley with the Nature Conservancy argued that although some measures make financial sense for companies, like making buildings more energy efficient, more statewide undertakings such as building out infrastructure for EVs will need legislation requiring action.
“I think that is where a more legislative regulatory scheme may be needed in order to make sure that not only the climate outcomes are being considered, but also community and conservation outcomes,” he said.
Whether that happens remains to be seen.
Mobley said he and other conservation groups plan to campaign hard during next year’s legislative session for policies and measures that will help Hoosiers implement the state’s new climate action plan.
Without that support from lawmakers, efforts to cut emissions in Indiana could falter, he argued.
“With a new administration taking effect after the election in November, the whole atmosphere could change, so we’ll just have to see how that shakes out,” he said.
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