Latest climate action plan pushes for net-zero by 2050

Delaware’s latest Climate Action Plan continues to predict rising sea levels and temperatures with a goal of reaching net-zero by 2050.

Building on the 2021 plan, the latest document is a playbook for addressing climate change in the state, said the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Greg Patterson.

The latest plan will be updated in 2027 and 2029 before the 2030 CAP is released.

“Climate change is real and affecting Delaware residents,” Patterson said.

The strategies and goals included in the plan are meant to make Delaware a better place to live, Patterson said.

“These goals, I think, everyone can agree to,” he said.

According to the report, fossil fuels continue to be the culprit in increasing temperatures – about 3 degrees higher since 1895. Scientists have referred to the current climate trend as an interglacial period that occurs between ice ages roughly every 100,000 years.

Likewise, the report states sea levels have increased about 15 inches since the early 1900s, and it projects sea levels will rise another 1.2 to 1.5 feet by 2050.

During DNREC sea-level rise presentations in 2011, officials predicted levels would increase about 0.13 inches a year, which would mean levels have increased by 1.82 inches since then. However, using a linear rate, DNREC officials said, the Lewes tide gauge indicates a higher acceleration of mean sea levels.

“Linear rate of sea-level rise is very dependent on your time period of measurement, because it's not really linear, it's an accelerating curve,” said Susan Love, administrator of Climate & Sustainability Programs  “Averaging the rate of rise over a long period of time dampens the higher rates of sea-level rise we are seeing over the past several decades. For the Lewes gauge, when we look at the linear trend for the last 40 years, it's 5.52 mm per year, and when we look at just the last 20 years, the rate is nearly doubled at 7.09 mm per year. So I would err on the side of higher estimates. So if you wanted to say how much average sea levels have risen over the past 15 years, it is closer to 4 inches.”

A move to sun and offshore wind energy is part of the solution, according to the report, and includes evaluating the potential of small modular nuclear reactor technology, something a separate task force has already begun working on.

Jesse Hayden of DNREC’s Coastal Programs section said actions included in the plan do not include mandates, and any new laws pertaining to climate change would go through the routine legislative process.

“DNREC looks forward to continued dialogue with Delawareans to ensure that the actions outlined in this plan are designed, implemented and refined in ways that deliver equitable benefits and opportunities for all,” the report states.

Regarding Gov. Matt Meyer’s public critique of the zero-emission vehicle mandate created under the Carney administration, Patterson said they continue to believe electric or zero-emission vehicles are the way to go, but Meyer wants to do it through incentives.

“That’s the strategy in the plan,” Patterson said.

As the largest employer in the state, the report states, Delaware’s state government will lead by example in implementing strategies to alleviate the effects of climate change.

“Because of the scale of state government facilities and operations, actions by state agencies to improve energy efficiency of buildings, deploy electric vehicles and install solar photovoltaic systems can have an enduring effect, not just on the state’s overall emissions profile, but also by leading by example to showcase the benefit-cost savings of these measures,” the report states.