We shouldn't need to be reminded (but we do)
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| Photo by Laura Paton/Rhode Island Current |
“The governor’s proposal starts the conversation each year
on what will eventually become Rhode Island’s next budget,” said Representative
Tanzi (D-Dist. 34, South Kingstown, Narragansett). “If we are serious
about meeting the Act on Climate mandates we set in 2021, we need every budget
to take these mandates seriously from this first proposal. From my seat on the
House Finance Committee I’ve seen many proposals and I do not believe our
current process adequately considers addressing our climate goals. We need a
structural change in the process to address the climate crisis that affects us
all deeply here in the Ocean State.”
The bill (2025-H 7998) would require that the annual budget proposal
from the governor include an explanation of how the budget helps the state
achieve the mandated benchmarks set out in the Act on Climate and what policies
were considered.
The 2021 Act on Climate is one of the most influential environmental bills approved by the General Assembly in decades. It mandates that Rhode Island incrementally reduce climate emissions to net-zero by 2050, setting a series of emissions-reduction benchmarks that the state must achieve in order to reach that goal, with the first coming in 2030. These goals are enforceable by civil action against the state if it fails to reach these mandates.
“The Act on Climate was intentionally drafted so that its provisions were not a collection of optimistic goals but enforceable mandates that all branches of state government have to take seriously,” said Representative Tanzi.
“In the nearly five years since its passage, state
agencies have not uniformly acted with the required urgency to meet these
mandates, leaving our state at risk of lawsuits for failing to follow through
on our commitments. Green alternatives may not always be feasible, but we have a
responsibility to explore every option before we opt for the status quo.
Emphasizing these Act on Climate mandates at the beginning of each year’s
budget process will go a long way toward increasing urgency to meet our
necessary climate goals.”
