Energy use directly impacts the environment through the extraction and consumption of natural resources for fuel and air emissions and climate changes resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels. The environmental degradation resulting from climate change is multi-faceted. One simple way of addressing the complex issues related to climate change is to increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The DEP Office of Pollution Prevention provides assistance to Connecticut’s businesses, institutions, municipalities, and consumers on actions that can be taken to use energy more efficiently and rely on clean and renewable sources of energy.

All About Energy Efficiency in Connecticut

• The CT Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF) provides assistance and information and has a toll-free hotline for information on energy efficiency. Call 1-877-WISE-USE (1-877-947-3873).
• The Energy Conservation Management Board (ECMB) has developed multiple scenarios designed to demonstrate the effect energy efficiency and various conservation measures have on energy demand. These scenarios specifically show the potential for reducing both current summer peak demand as well as summer peak demand into the future. Essentially, studies show that without any conservation and energy efficiency measures, the demand for energy will continue to increase, further complicating global warming and climate change challenges. However, with increased funding of efficiency and conservation measures, demand growth can be decelerated or even stopped within the next five years. Such studies unveil further reason to take action now and make the necessary changes to improve the ways CT uses energy. Check out ECMB’s 2006 Report to view "Graph A: Connecticut’s Peak Demand Savings Forecast" to get more information on CT energy efficiency.

All About Climate Change in Connecticut

• CT Climate Change. CT state agencies are collaborating to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in CT. The Governor's Steering Committee, made up of leaders from key state agencies including the Department of Environmental Protection, Public Utility Commission, Transportation, Administrative Services, the Office of Policy and Management, and the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, is charged with leading a collaborative effort to implement the 2005 Climate Change Action Plan for Connecticut. The plan contains 55 action items that will enable the state to achieve its 2010 and 2020 greenhouse gas reduction goals.
  
• Connecticut's 1990 and 1995 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory. In 1998, CT DEP received a federal grant to conduct an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions within the State. The inventory identifies, quantifies, and categorizes greenhouse gas emissions in the State of Connecticut for the years 1990 and 1995.
  
• New England Governors/Eastern Canadian Premiers Climate Change Action Plan 2001 (August 2001). This plan identifies steps to address those aspects of global warming which are within the region’s control of influence. The intent is to reduce the region’s emissions of heat-trapping gases and to build the foundation for a longer-term shift to cleaner and more efficient ways of using energy.
  
• The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), working with research institutions in the U.S. and beyond our borders, provides the foundation for increasing the skill of predictions of seasonal-to-interannual climate fluctuations and long-term climate change. The USGCRP also sponsors research to understand the vulnerabilities to changes in important environmental factors, including changes in climate, ultraviolet (UV) radiation at the Earth's surface, and land cover.
  
• The US National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change has a directory of online reports.
  
• The United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization jointly founded the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to assess the science of climate change, its impacts, and to develop response strategies.