On Earth Day on Wednesday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed an executive order creating a new council to keep Connecticut on pace with its long-term greenhouse gas emissions goals.
In 2008, Connecticut adopted the Global Warming Solutions Act, committing the state to reduce greenhouse gas emission 10 percent by 2020 and then 80 percent by 2050. Malloy said the state is ahead of its 2020 target.
The newly established Council on Climate Change will be made up of 15 members to recommend policies, regulations, and legislative actions that help the state achieve its 2050 target. The council will make its first report in January and then biannually thereafter.
The membership will include the commissioners of the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, Department of Economic & Community Development, Department of Transportation, Department of Administrative Services, Insurance Department, Department of Housing, and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority; the secretary of the Office of Policy & Management; the CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank; the executive director of the Connecticut Institute for Resilience & Climate Adaptation; Don Strait, president of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment; Lynn Stoddard, director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University; John Humphries of the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate & Jobs; and two representatives from business and industry.
