Rhode Island has cut greenhouse gases by 20% since 1990 — but has a long way to go

PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island has met the first interim target put in place by a landmark state climate law by reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20.1% below 1990 levels, the Department of Environmental Management reported Friday.

The level of reduction is more than double the 10% cut by 2020 mandated by the Act on Climate, the sweeping law signed by Gov. Dan McKee two years ago that forms the foundation of the state’s efforts to address climate change by electrifying cars and heating systems and ramping up the use of wind and solar power.

The 10% emissions-reduction target was set years ago by state policymakers and made binding with the 2021 passage of the Act on Climate. The next target, a 45% cut by 2030, will be much more difficult to reach. Indeed, modeling by Acadia Center and the Rocky Mountain Institute, clean energy groups working with the state, projects Rhode Island will fall just short of the target.

To read the full article from the Providence Journal, click here.