When it comes to the issue of climate change, Indiana finds itself caught, in a sense, between two realities.
Government leaders are touting advancements in clean air and water initiatives, and environmental experts say that improvements in solar and wind technology are shrinking the state’s carbon footprint.
Yet, environmental advocates say there is much work still to be done.
According to a recent report released by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United States is second only in the world to China in carbon dioxide emissions from energy and electricity. Ten states account for half that total, and Indiana is one of them.
The Hoosier state emitted nearly 190 million metric tons (more than 209 million U.S. tons) of energy-related carbon dioxide in 2018, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration – enough to place it among the top 10 of all states in both overall and per-capita emissions.
“Our electric supply sources in Indiana are still very dependent on fossil fuels which emit carbon – things like coal and natural gas,” said Gabe Filippelli, executive director of Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute. “They’re an outsized part of our electricity portfolio compared to a lot of other states, including several of our neighboring states.”
Indiana also remains a significant transportation hub, with interstate highways and railroads crisscrossing the state. The Indiana Department of Transportation estimates that 724 million tons of freight passes through the state annually, much of it carried on heavy equipment that discharges carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
“Basically, a lot of trains and trucks go through Indiana,” Filippelli said. “Plus, we still have some significant manufacturing and production facilities – not only steel but others – and those produce kind of an outsized share of emissions.”
Those three factors – especially the state’s continued reliance on fossil fuels – are widely seen as the main culprits behind the state’s unwanted status as a leading CO2 emitter.
Click here to see the full report from Andy Knight at the Goshen News.