ATLANTA – Big box retail stores can help Georgia increase its clean energy production, according to a new report from Environment Georgia Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group. Solar on Superstores: Big Roofs, Big Potential for Renewable Energy calculates that the 3,691 big box buildings in the state can offset 2,421,600 metric tons of global warming pollution by just putting solar panels on their roofs. That’s the equivalent of taking 526,649 cars off the road. The energy produced by these solar roofs is also enough to power 309,300 average homes and could meet 2.5% of the state’s total electricity demand.
As Americans experience the consequences of climate change — droughts, wildfires, hurricanes and record heat waves —a majority of the shareholders in Costco*, one of the largest retailers in the world, voted yes on a shareholder proposal that calls on Costco to set “short, medium, and long-term science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets” to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Following years of rollbacks, President Joe Biden began his term nearly a year ago amidst unprecedented environmental and public health challenges. Despite these obstacles, his administration has made significant strides toward restoring lost environmental protections and confronting daunting threats to our climate and public health, according to a new report by Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund.
“Environment Georgia applauds the decision by Mayor Miller to reject Brightmark’s proposal and to prioritize a healthy, sustainable future for Macon. This was the right decision for the health and wellbeing of Macon residents and for the planet. No community deserves to breathe polluted air and drink polluted water. And no company should be propping up an untested technology that endangers public health and perpetuates the global climate and plastic pollution crises.”
Environment Georgia Research and Policy Center is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.
