Midwest

Wisconsin

In 2019, Wisconsin’s Governor committed the state to meeting the emissions reduction goals of the Paris Agreement and set a goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. While the state’s electricity generation is still overwhelmingly from natural gas and coal, coal consumption is declining, with more than half of the state’s coal-fired generation capacity scheduled for retirement by 2026. Wisconsin’s net emissions decreased 15% from 2005-2021, compared to their emissions reduction target of 26% below 2005 levels by 2025.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 2005 levels

2025

26%

Governor

Tony Evers (Democrat)

House Party

Republican Majority

Senate Party

Republican Supermajority

Legislative session

1/16/24 - 3/12/24

US Climate Alliance Status

Member

Key Offices & Links

16

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 5 policy areas

See all

46

Policy Opportunities

across 7 policy areas

See all

Midwest

12 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted
In-progress
Partially Enacted
Not Enacted

Glossary of Terms

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	YR Enacted
Enacted	Commercial Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is 2015 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2013 with amendments. Establishing Policies Wisconsin State Energy Code (2018)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2018
Enacted	Residential Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for residential construction is 2009 IECC. Establishing Policies Wisconsin State Energy Code (2015)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2015
Not Enacted	Stretch Building Energy Codes Empty column Stretch building energy codes are an optional, more stringent building code established by the state that local jurisdictions can adopt to require that newly constructed buildings are more efficient than the baseline state codes.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes
Not Enacted	Appliance Standards Empty column Appliance standards set minimum energy and water conservation requirements for appliances and equipment.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Not Enacted	Building Performance Standards Empty column Building performance standards establish energy and/or greenhouse gas performance targets for existing buildings in a state. These targets increase in stringency over time, leading to efficiency improvements in buildings to conserve energy and reduce emissions.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Not Enacted	Clean Heat Standards Empty column Clean heat standards establish a performance standard requiring heat providers to deliver a gradually-increasing percentage of low-emission heating services to customers.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Enacted	Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) Empty column Electric utilities are required to achieve statewide energy savings equivalent to 31,676,270 gross life cycle megawatt-hours (MWh) for 2023-2026. Gas utilities are required to achieve statewide energy savings equivalent to 776,085,000 gross life cycle therms for 2023-2026. Establishing Policies Wis. Stat. § 196.374 (2011) 5-FE-104 (2022)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2022
Enacted	Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Empty column Wisconsin has enacted commercial PACE-enabling legislation and has active programs. Establishing Policies AB 255 (2009)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2009
Partially Enacted	Weatherization Funding Empty column The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies SPOT - Weatherization Funding in Wisconsin Policy Components enacted enacted enacted not-enacted 3/4	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency
Not Enacted	All-Electric Buildings Empty column All-electric buildings policies require new buildings to be constructed with all-electric heating, cooling, and cooking systems to transition away from fossil-fuel use in buildings.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Electrification

Wisconsin

Key Offices & Links

16

46

Midwest

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Wisconsin