Illinois EPA releases ‘Comprehensive Climate Action Plan’ to reach ‘net
zero’ emissions
[September 19, 2026]
By Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois has made substantial progress in reducing
greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, but it is not yet on track to
meet its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
That’s the conclusion of a new Comprehensive Climate Action Plan
released this month by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
To reach that goal, the report suggests Illinois will need to enact
significant changes across virtually every sector of its economy,
including transportation, building construction, manufacturing,
agriculture and waste disposal.
“Illinoisans are seeing the extreme heat and storms climate change has
brought to our doorstep this summer,” Illinois Climate Advisor JC Kibbey
said in a statement announcing the report. “We are feeling the high,
unpredictable costs of fossil fuel every time we reach for our wallets.
This plan shows the great progress we’ve made on climate and clean
energy — and how much more we have left to do.”
In 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded Illinois a
$430 million grant to implement programs to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. That money came through the federal Climate Pollution
Reduction Grant program, which was an element of then-President Joe
Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act.
The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan is intended to provide a roadmap
for Illinois to reduce its carbon footprint to as little as 72% below
its 2005 baseline. It also outlines two scenarios under which Illinois
could virtually eliminate all carbon emissions.
Those would involve a combination of incentive packages and regulatory
changes that would affect nearly every sector of the economy. But doing
so, the report suggests, would produce $21 billion a year in net
economic benefits.
Current policies
According to the document, Illinois cut its net greenhouse gas emissions
by 32% from 2005 to 2023. That was due mainly to a shift in electric
generation toward natural gas and renewable sources such as wind and
solar power.
The transportation industry also saw significant reductions due to
improved fuel efficiency standards and the gradual adoption of electric
vehicles.
Those trends are expected to continue into the future as long, the
report states, as Illinois adheres to its current policies such as the
2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which calls for the complete
elimination of carbon-emitting power production by 2050, and the state’s
Electric Vehicle Rebate Program, which offers incentives for
lower-income consumers to switch to electric vehicles.
But they will not be enough to reach the goal of net-zero emissions by
2050, according to the report. At best, without any additional policy
changes, the report estimates net carbon emissions will only fall to 133
million metric tons by 2050, a 53% reduction below the 2005 baseline.
Path to further reductions
The document outlines a laundry list of additional actions Illinois
could take to reduce its carbon footprint even further, starting with
providing rebates and other incentives to convert all forms of
commercial vehicles, including medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, to
electric.
It also proposes new regulations on residential and commercial
buildings. Those include adopting clean heat standards that would
require a 22% reduction in emissions from natural gas by 2035, offering
subsidies to install heat pumps in residential homes, adopting
all-electric construction codes for new construction and phasing out
gasoline-powered lawn and landscaping equipment by 2035.
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A new report says Illinois has made significant strides in reducing
greenhouse gas emissions from power plants such as the City Water
Light and Power plant in Springfield. (Capitol News Illinois photo
by Peter Hancock)
It also proposes additional regulations for industrial activities such
as requiring net zero emissions from cement production by 2050 and
requiring reductions in emissions intensity of cement, glass, iron and
steel used in public construction.
The plan also proposes stronger methane monitoring and abatement
regulations for landfills and additional incentives for farmers to adopt
practices that reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The report estimates that adopting all the measures outlined in the plan
would reduce the state’s carbon footprint to 79 million metric tons, or
72% below 2024 levels.
The document also outlines two scenarios for achieving a complete “net
zero” footprint by 2050, both requiring high levels of energy efficiency
and replacing fossil fuels with electrification or other kinds of
renewable fuels.
One plan, called the “moderate efficiency and flexibility” scenario,
assumes full electrification of buildings by 2050 with 32% of households
using hybrid heat pumps. It also assumes a rapid expansion of electric
vehicles.
The “high efficiency and flexibility” scenario places greater emphasis
on reducing energy demand. It calls for shifting the focus of new
residential development to multifamily buildings instead of
single-family homes to reduce heating and cooling loads. It also calls
for higher density development and increased reliance on public
transportation to reduce the overall number of vehicle miles traveled on
roads.
Costs and benefits
The report acknowledges that adopting the policies it outlines would
require substantial new investments from the state, private industry and
consumers. Those include costs for new infrastructure, vehicles, heat
pumps and alternative fuels, to name a few.
But the report says those investments will also yield long-term cost
savings from reduced fossil fuel consumption, greater efficiencies,
reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved health and air quality
benefits.
It estimates the improvements in air quality alone would lead to between
392 and 631 fewer premature deaths per year. That translates to between
$8.8 and $13.8 billion in avoided healthcare costs and increased worker
productivity.
“Including the monetized benefits of reduced (greenhouse gas) emissions
and health benefits, the total annual net benefit of the Increased State
Action scenario reaches $21 billion by 2050,” the report concludes.
“Since adoption of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, Illinois has been
a national leader in addressing carbon emissions, particularly from the
energy and transportation sectors,” Illinois EPA Director James Jennings
said in a statement. “The (Comprehensive Climate Action Plan) builds on
these past successes by identifying a path for Illinois to achieve
significant reductions in climate change-causing greenhouse gases and
meet the state’s long term climate goals.”
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