RI Governor Calls For Big Climate Change Investments

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island's governor is calling for greater investments into combatting climate change. In his proposed state budget for the 2023 fiscal year, Gov. Dan McKee included $150 million to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resiliency and invest in green energy sources.

"Rhode Island is a national leader in clean energy innovation and we must harness the historic opportunity before us by capitalizing on our state’s solid foundation in these sectors," McKee said. "Our multi-agency team is committed to making additional investments to improve the quality of our air and water, protect green space, ensure equitable shoreline access, and expand access to affordable and sustainable clean energy solutions. Slashing greenhouse gasses is not just the right thing to do for the environment – it is also the right thing to do for our economy."

The governor called for the following investments:

• $60 million to improve infrastructure at the Port of Davisville. As offshore wind developers pursue federal permits for construction off the New England coast, this investment will power construction of the Terminal 5 Pier and completion of required dredging, preparation of about 34 acres to accommodate additional cargo laydown, and reconstruction and hardening of the existing surface of Pier 1. Together, these investments will accommodate the existing finished automobile importing and processing businesses that call the facility home, while expanding capacity specifically for the offshore wind developers.

• $35 million for the City of East Providence’s proposed improvements to the South Quay Marine Terminal, which will create a large, integrated, and centralized hub of intermodal shipping designed to support the offshore wind industry. Funding will support phase one of the project, which includes finishing design activities and developing the waterfront portion of the terminal into a robust marine-industrial facility.

• $37 million toward the creation of an Electric Heat Pump Incentive Program run by the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER). These funds will help homeowners and small to midsized business owners purchase and install high-efficiency electric heat pumps, with an emphasis on families in environmental justice communities and community organizations.

• $23 million in federal and state funding to expand Rhode Island’s network of electric vehicle charging stations through a joint incentive program managed by OER and the Department of Transportation (DOT), in consultation with the Department of Environmental Management (DEM). Total federal funding for this program is expected to be $22.9 million through FY 2026.

• $6 million, on an annual basis, to the EC4 to support advancement of Act on Climate mandates, including investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean transportation, clean heating, energy storage, demand-side management, and other greenhouse gas reduction strategies.

Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos called the proposals "sensible investments [that] aren’t just a means of combatting climate change, but necessary steps to modernize our energy grid, invigorate our economy, and combat inequities in environmental justice."

"This is a can we can no longer kick down the road and I am pleased that we are putting these measures forward to start addressing the climate crisis today," Matos continued.

The governor said he wants to strengthen the state's Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council, or EC4, which "assesses, integrates, and coordinates climate change efforts throughout state government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare Rhode Islanders for the effects of climate change." McKee called for the council to create a special committee focused on justice, which will address vulnerable residents who have been impacted by the effects of climate change.

"Effectively implementing the Act on Climate is both a legal and moral imperative in Rhode Island," said Terry Gray, the actiing director of the DEM and EC4's chairperson. "The Governor’s bold budget commitments, including direct funding to the EC4 for the first time, make good on his promise to take action against climate change and deliver the urgent remedies that the new law demands."

These proposed expenditures will solidify Rhode Island as the East Coast hub of offshore wind development, support the transformation of the heating sector, electrify transportation, build municipal resiliency, conserve forests, and strengthen the State’s Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4). This body assesses, integrates, and coordinates climate change efforts throughout state government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare Rhode Islanders for the effects of climate change.

Along with the above investments, the governor also called for the creation of a green bond for the 2022 ballot, which would provide funding to the municipal resiliency program, the small business energy loan program and forest conservation efforts.