Gov. McKee has weighed in on Act On Climate, and the news is… meh. He sent a letter to the House Environment Committee that was generally supportive, but asked them to water down its enforcement provision that makes our pollution-reduction targets not just aspirational but mandatory.
That change is unacceptable. The bill’s enforcement provision was already carefully crafted to limit frivolous lawsuits while holding future administrations truly accountable. In Massachusetts, which has had enforceable climate targets for 13 years, only one lawsuit was brought (by the Conservation Law Foundation, and it succeeded). Furthermore, any amendments at this late stage may put the entire bill’s passage in jeopardy.
Call to Action
Please help us raise our voices for enforceable climate action. Take as many of these actions today as you possibly can:
- Sign our petition to the governor: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/act-on-climate. We’re at 700 signatures; help us blow past 1000!
- Ask friends and family to sign on by emailing or texting the link above. If you’re on Facebook, invite friends to our Facebook petition-signing event.
- Call the governor at 401-222-2080. Let’s inundate McKee’s voicemail. Leave a message like this: “My name is [NAME] and I live in [TOWN]. I urge Governor McKee to sign the Act On Climate bill, with no changes! Thank you.”
- Use the governor’s online contact form to submit the same message: https://governor.ri.gov/contact/.
Let’s get this bill over the finish line! Thanks for all you do.
More Info
- Bill summary and supporters list from the Conservation Law Foundation and Audubon Society of Rhode Island
- Climate Jobs Rhode Island Group (labor/environment coalition)
- Video of Amy Moses, Conservation Law Foundation VP, explaining the bill