The National Climate Assessment found that extreme heat in the Southeast region due to the changing climate will add severe stress to water availability while storms will become more intense and more frequent.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has declared major disasters, including flooding, hurricanes, severe storms and record snow, 29 times in Kentucky since the year 2000.
During the past thirty years, Kentuckians experienced just four days of extreme heat temperatures above 95°F. By mid-century, this number will reach up to 44 days per year, according to a Risky Business report. The same report found that higher electricity use, especially due to air conditioning, will significantly drive up energy prices and will cost the state exchequer $454 million each year by mid-century.
A strong 70% of Kentucky adults support regulating CO2 as a pollutant and 75% advocate for funding research into renewable energy resources. More than half support strict CO2 limits on existing coal-fired power plants.
Soon after the Supreme Court ruling on CPP, top climate officials in the state were let go of their jobs.
As of 2014, Kentucky ranked 37th in the United States with just 8.5 MW of installed solar capacity. It has almost no wind power production as well, but nonetheless employed 1,400 people in wind and solar sector during 2014.