Client: Green Energy Consumers Alliance (GECA)
Authors: Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, Research Assistant Tanya Stasio and Researcher Bryndis Woods
November 2019
Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, Research Assistant Tanya Stasio and Researcher Bryndis Woods prepared a white paper that estimates the per ton cost of the most expensive measure needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 21 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) by 2030—as required by the Commonwealth’s Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA). AEC projects that the most expensive (per ton of CO2-e) measure needed to comply with the GWSA in 2030 will be residential and commercial thermal electrification: switching from burning gas to using electric heat pumps. The estimated cost of switching from gas to electric heat pumps in 2030 is $13 per ton of avoided CO2-e. In total, 12.2 MMT of CO2-e reductions in 2030 can be achieved at zero or net negative cost. An additional 64.0 MMT are available for under $50 per ton. In sum, there are sufficient cost-effective opportunities to meet and even exceed the reductions needed to stay on track with GWSA targets.