Kentucky, the Bluegrass State, is famous not only for its pastures and its thoroughbreds, but also for its many scenic natural landscapes — lakes, rivers, and stunning smoky mountains. Home to over 4.6 million people and sprawling across nearly 40 thousand square miles, Kentucky is also known for its mining industry, and has thus often found itself squarely in the center of debates around climate change, energy, and economy.
While Kentucky’s average temperature did not change significantly over the past century (largely due to cyclical cool periods and sulfate air pollutants), most areas within the state have warmed in the last twenty years, and simultaneously have experienced an increase in average rainfall. Like many other states, Kentucky’s water supply and soil health is threatened even as precipitation increases because of longer, hotter periods between rainfalls. Parched soil is less able to absorb rain, and thus the issue becomes self-perpetuating. Ranked as the sixth most vulnerable state to climate change, Kentucky has experienced 31 severe storms or flood disasters in the past two decades. Extreme weather events like the devastating 2022 flood in Eastern Kentucky will become more frequent and severe. Warmer temperatures will also inhibit frost and extend growing seasons, and drought is expected to reduce crop yields. Kentucky residents are expected to see a rise in extreme heat from 15 days per year today to 70 by 2050. For a state ranking consistently at the bottom of the stack for health care access and quality, this is extremely concerning. Extreme heat particularly affects people who are already vulnerable to health risks, like the elderly, the chronically sick, and historically marginalized populations.
The coal industry in Kentucky dates back as early as 1790 and the state continues to produce enormous amounts of coal. It is the fifth in the nation in estimated recoverable coal reserves, and seventh in the nation for coal production. One out of every operational five coal mines in the U.S. is located in Kentucky. In 2024, coal-fired power plants supplied 67% of electricity generation in Kentucky, the second largest in the U.S. after West Virginia. That proportion indicates a decline, however as coal historically contributed over 90% of Kentucky’s electricity generation, but older power plants have become too costly to maintain in recent years although some of those plants now burn natural gas which currently accounts for 26% of the state’s electricity generation. The rest of electricity generation comes mostly from hydroelectric power plants (6%), and some small amounts of biomass (0.6%) and solar (0.7%). Kentucky’s three largest utility-scale solar facilities came online in 2025, with an additional 400 megawatts scheduled for the end of 2026.
Kentucky has no renewable portfolio standard or voluntary target, but has some incentive programs.
Kentucky established The Climate Action Plan Council which submitted a greenhouse gas inventory in 2010, and a report in 2011 - neither of which have been updated since 2013. In the absence of continued state-wide action, Louisville, Kentucky’s biggest city, created its own action plan. It joined the 100 Resilient Cities Network and set forth a number of initiatives which not only work to curb emissions but also to help residents adapt to a changing climate and mitigate inequities resulting from climate change consequences. In April, 2021 Louisville entered a partnership with the NREL to help them map out a roadmap to reach a target of 100% clean electricity for government operations by 2030, and 100% clean energy by 2040.
While 63% of residents believe global warming exists, (about 10% below the national average), Kentucky is one of five states that declined to participate in the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program (The other four are Florida, Kentucky, South Dakota and Wyoming). The program provided federal grants for states to develop priority climate action plans before a March 2024 deadline, and comprehensive climate action plans in 2025. However, three cities in Kentucky - Louisville/Jefferson County, Lexington-Fayette, and Bowling Green - developed and submitted their own priority action plans and received $1 million each from the EPA. Also through the EPA grant, six counties in Kentucky produced the Central Kentucky Climate Action Plan, setting a target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2050, and encouraging collaboration across the urban and rural divide.
Governor Andy Beshear has promoted investment in electric vehicles, resilience and sustainability, while avoiding more ambitious climate action to placate powerful coal interests in the state. In 2025, the legislature passed Senate Bill 89, reducing state-level protections for groundwater and wetlands, though in 2026 environmental groups successfully stopped the passage of another bill which would have further reduced the ability of the state to regulate water quality. The Kentucky Conservation Committee tracks environmental bills in the legislature, and produced a guide for Key Steps for Climate Action in Kentucky.
According to the US Climate Vulnerability Index, released in 2023 by Texas A&M University and the Environmental Defense Fund, Kentucky is the sixth most vulnerable (to climate change) state overall, and three counties in Eastern Kentucky - Whitley, Knox, and Floyd - are among the top ten most vulnerable in the nation. Eastern Kentucky is one of the poorest regions in the state, experiencing high levels of chronic disease and disability, poor infrastructure, lack of access to medical care, and environmental exploitation as legacies of strip mining have contributed to public health crises and left the area especially vulnerable to flash flooding. Overall, 5% of homes in the state are at risk of damage from flooding, a number that is expected to increase, but that figure jumps in some counties in Eastern Kentucky like Martin County, where 2 in 3 homes are vulnerable. These communities are frequently overlooked by federal flood protections and don’t qualify for flood insurance because FEMA’s risk index can underestimate hazards in rural areas where average home cost and household incomes are lower and therefore the financial losses are deemed lower.
CREDIT: Kentucky Resources Council
