Global Warming News

As the new home of RIPIRG's environmental work, Environment Rhode Island can be contacted regarding this news release.

PROVIDENCE– A “Climate Report Card” released August 23, 2005 by a coalition of environmental advocates in the United States and Canada has given Rhode Island a grade of “B minus” for its actions to reduce global warming pollution in the region. According to the report card that grades the six New England states and five eastern Canadian Provinces, the main shortfall in Rhode Island is increased emissions from the transportation sector and a lack of leadership from Governor Carcieri.

“While Rhode Island’s legislature has begun doing the right things over the last year to deal with climate change, Governor Carcieri’s leadership on reducing global climate change is lacking,” said Chris Wilhite, spokesperson for Clean Water Action. “We need the Governor to make sure that Rhode Islanders have cars on the road that are better for the air we breathe and that protect us from the threats of climate change.”

This year’s grade for Rhode Island has improved from a “C minus” on the 2004 Climate Change Report Card. Since last year’s report card, Rhode Island has become the 15th state to establish a renewable energy standard portfolio and has made it easier to invest in clean, renewable energy thanks to legislation adopted by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor. Just this year the General Assembly also passed the region’s strongest appliance efficiency standards legislation to cut down on energy waste, along with a resolution committing the state to meeting regional pollution reduction goals.

The report states that the next step for Rhode Island to meet those pollution reduction goals include:
• A strong commitment from Governor Carcieri to follow Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Vermont in adopting global warming standards for new cars and trucks.
• A plan to confront the amount of vehicle miles traveled in the state.
• Efforts to effectively promote smart growth policies and protect Rhode Island’s public transit system.

“Cars and trucks are the largest and fastest growing source of global warming pollution in Rhode Island,” said Matt Auten, Advocate, with the Rhode Island Public Interest Research Group (RIPIRG). “The biggest short-term step Rhode Island can take is to join Massachusetts and Connecticut in adopting global warming standards for new cars and trucks. Governor Carcieri should make sure Rhode Island adopts global warming standards for new cars and trucks this year,” Auten concluded.

The global warming vehicle standards were developed in California. Under the rules (which will take effect in vehicle model year 2009) automakers will be required to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from their total new vehicle fleet by 22 percent by 2012 and 30 percent by 2016. These standards represent the first attempt within the United States to comprehensively regulate global warming emissions from cars and light-trucks. The pollution savings would be larger than any program Rhode Island has previously adopted and would more than double the carbon reductions of any strategy modeled by the Rhode Island Greenhouse Gas Action Plan that was introduced in 2001.

“Who in Rhode Island doesn’t want to purchase a far cleaner car that will also save money at the pump?” said Cynthia Giles, Director of the Rhode Island Office of the Conservation Law Foundation. “The cleaner car standards that Rhode Island should adopt are required to save consumers money by reducing gas consumption. At today’s gas prices, I cannot imagine why we wouldn’t take advantage of the chance to save money and have cleaner air by adopting the new cleaner car standards.”

The 2005 Report Card on Climate Change Action was written to gauge the progress of individual states and provinces in meeting the goals of the New England Governor’s / Eastern Canadian Premiers’ Climate Change Action Plan of 2001. In Massachusetts, the report card is also an assessment of Governor Romney’s implementation of his 2004 Climate Protection Plan.

In August of 2001 the Governors of the six New England states and the Premiers of the five eastern Canadian provinces committed to reducing regional greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010, then reducing emissions by at least 10% below 1990 levels by 2020 and over the long term reducing regional greenhouse gas emissions by 75-85%. This initiative was undertaken after the governors and premiers recognized that global climate change posed serious threats to the region’s environment, economy and public health.

The Report Card comes just days before the region’s Governors and Premiers will meet in Newfoundland and discuss their progress in meeting the goals of the 2001 Climate Change Action Plan. High grades in the report card went to Connecticut in the U.S., which received a B, and Prince Edward Island in Canada, which received a B+. Low scores in the region went to New Hampshire and Nova Scotia, who each received grades of “C-.”

The full Report Card can be viewed at: www.ripirg.org and www.newenglandclimate.org.