According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the climate in Texas is already changing due to anthropogenic climate change., most of the state had already warmed by 1.5 degrees since the previous century because of global warming. Texas is expected to have a wide range of environmental impacts, including rising sea levels, increased extreme weather and wildfires, and pressure on water resources. The primary factors in Texas' greenhouse gas emissions are the state's large number of coal power plants and the state's refining and manufacturing industries which provides the bulk of the United States' petroleum products. Texas accounts for 41% of crude oil production, 25% of natural gas, and 31% of refining capacity, and has some of the highest potential for sustainable power, producing 28% of wind for the United States.
Emissions
Texas emits the most greenhouse gases in the US. The state's annual carbon dioxide emissions are nearly 1.5 trillion pounds. Texas would be the world's seventh-largest producer of greenhouse gases if it were an independent nation. Texas's high carbon dioxide output and large energy consumption is primarily a result of large coal-burning power plants and gas-guzzling vehicles.
Energy
, Texas's energy mix inlcudes 18,705 MWh Natural Gas, 4,823 MWhs Coal, 3,548 MWhs Nuclear and 8,317 MWhs renewables. Half of energy consumed in the state is from refiniries and petrochemical plants.
Fossil fuel industry
Texas oilfield account for 41% of crude oil production, 25% of natural gas, and 31% of refining capacity. Texas is also the largest Lignite producer in the United States. An April 2020 statement by a representative of the Texas Oil and Gas Association leadership expressed a commitment to reducing emissions through low carbon technologies.
In some parts of the state, precipitation will fall. The amount of precipitation on extremely wet or snowy days in winter is likely to decrease, and the amount of precipitation on extremely wet days in summer is likely to increase. Rainstorms are expected to become more extreme, causing localized flooding.t is not clear how severe storms such as hurricanes would change. The frequency of extremely hot days in summer would increase because of the general warming trend. Many arid climates in Texas will likely enter desertification or loose its productivity for activities like livestock.
Coastal changes
Sea level is rapidly rising, estimated 2-5 feet, on many parts of the Texas coast, due to both sinking land from groundwater extraction and climate change. These changes plus more extreme hurricanes and other coastal storms, mean that the state's coastal infrastructure, including public infrastructure like roads, fossil fuel infrastructure such as refineries, and housing.
Water resources
Several major river basins lie partly or entirely within Texas. Unless increased temperatures are coupled with a strong increase in rainfall, water could become more scarce. A warmer and drier climate would lead to greater evaporation, and less water for recharging groundwater aquifers, especially in Western texas where aquifers are already under significant pressure. In some parts of the state, increased rainfall could mitigate these effects, but also could contribute to localized flooding. Additionally, climate change could give rise to more frequent and intense rainfall, resulting in flash flooding.
The renewable energy industry is rapidly growing in the state. The state has high potential for both solar and wind, with high complementarity, where wind peaks when solar bottoms out and vice versa. This means that the states grid will be better able to handle the inconsistency of renewable. However, full access to that resource requires rebuilding the power grid. During the COVID 19 pandemic and 2020 Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war, green energy companies actively hired fossil fuel workers lost form the industry.
The wind farms in Texas are spread over 40 projects and had a total installed nameplate capacity of 25,629 megawatts as of the second quarter of 2019. If Texas were a country, it would rank fifth in the world behind only China, the United States, Germany, and India. As of the third quarter of 2013, Texas produced the most wind power of any U.S. state. According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, wind power accounted for at least 15.7 percent of the electricity generated in Texas during 2017. Wind power accounted for 17.4 percent of the electricity managed by ERCOT. ERCOT set a new wind output record of nearly 19.7 gigawatts at 7:19 pm Central Standard Time on January 21, 2019.
