Environmental Advocates Say 2024 Legislative Session Produced Mixed Bag

PROVIDENCE — It’s been more than two weeks since lawmakers adjourned for the year, so how are Rhode Island’s environmental groups feeling about the state of the session?

No one in politics gets everything they want, so perhaps unsurprisingly, the results are mixed. The General Assembly passed a number of longstanding environmental priorities, including a ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in consumer products (with a few exceptions); mandating state environmental officials write a coastal resiliency plan; and dedicated funding for the state’s climate council.

But several other major priorities of environmental groups were left on the committee room floor.

Barker’s organization, together with the Acadia Center, were the strongest proponents of energy benchmarking legislation, aimed at reducing emissions from large buildings across the state.

The Building Decarbonization Act would have required owners of buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to begin tracking their energy use and emissions as early as next year. Data derived from the legislation would have been used to come up with emission reduction goals for large buildings, similar to an ordinance enacted last year by the city of Providence.

To read the full article from ecoRI, click here.