PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is announcing the next public meeting of the RI Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) will be held in Newport on Thursday, Dec. 16, 1-2:30 PM at Innovate Newport, 513 Broadway. The EC4 assesses, integrates, and coordinates climate change efforts across state agencies to reduce emissions, strengthen the resilience of communities, and prepare for the effects of climate change. EC4 will hear presentations on projects and priorities aimed at reducing emissions from the transportation sector. In addition, Senator Dawn Euer (D-Newport), who represented the State of Rhode Island at the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, and representatives from the City of Newport will address the council.

"Before we met in September, Governor McKee instructed the EC4 to hold meetings at different locations throughout the state to allow more Rhode Islanders to participate in the critical conversations we need to have around getting to net-zero by 2050, which the Act on Climate requires us to do," said DEM Acting Director Terry Gray. "Meeting the new law's mandates is going to take the best efforts of every state agency, every business and organization, and every household in Rhode Island. There are some strong efforts happening on Aquidneck Island to respond to climate change, and great leaders advocating for both local and statewide solutions. We look forward to hearing about their progress and experiences at this meeting in Newport."

Enacted by the Rhode Island General Assembly and signed into law by Governor McKee earlier this year, the Act on Climate strengthens the state's climate-emission reduction goals to align them with current scientific projections. It instructs the state to develop a plan to reduce all climate emissions from transportation, buildings and heating, and electricity used economywide to 10 percent below 1990 levels this year, 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2040, and net-zero by 2050. The law set enforceable mandates.

Free parking is available at Innovate Newport and RIPTA bus routes service the area. Members of the public can attend in-person or remotely-Meeting ID: 824 1383 9489, Passcode: 119706, Dial In: 1-929-205-6099. Meeting information will be posted on the Calendar of Events on the homepage of www.climatechange.ri.gov. Please note that masks will be required for all in-person attendees.

For more information, visit www.dem.ri.gov or contact Elizabeth Stone via email at Elizabeth.Stone@dem.ri.gov or at (401) 222-2771. For more information about DEM divisions and programs, visit www.dem.ri.gov or follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM), or Instagram (@rhodeisland.dem) for timely updates.