State creates Climate Change Council

PROVIDENCE – A bill signed by Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee this month creates a Climate Change Council that will coordinate efforts between the state’s agencies and public institutions.
According to a news release, the nine-member council looks to ensure the state is doing “everything in its power to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions” while also advancing the public’s understanding of changes in sea level, severe weather events and critical infrastructure vulnerability.
Provisions of the law, which codified a previous executive order, require the council to submit a mitigation plan to the governor and General Assembly by Dec. 31, 2016, in order to meet phased-in targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Those benchmarks, which came at the suggestion of R.I. Department of Environmental Management officials, take aim at an 80 percent reduction from 1990 greenhouse gas levels by 2050. •

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