The Climate Initiatives Task Force met today to begin discussing how Louisiana could meet the Governor’s goals of reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chair Chip Kline said the task force will work to plot out a feasible path towards reducing emissions and provide education on how it can be done.
“It is a path that is real, and a path that is tangible,” said Kline. “It leads us away from disaster and towards prosperity.”
Edwards is aiming for a 26 percent reduction in emissions by 2025, a 40 to 50 percent reduction by 2030, with the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Kline said the hard truth is that either we make substantial changes, or the climate will.
“Real solutions are going to have to come from places like Louisiana where our challenges stare us in the face every day,” said Kline.
The framework for emissions reductions follows the Paris Climate Accord agreement that states the world can only afford another 1.5 degrees of average global temperature increases or we risk catastrophic worldwide ecological collapse. President Trump exited the US from the agreement this month but President-Elect Biden has vowed to rejoin.
Kline says they’ve brought in stakeholders from the oil and gas industry to sit on the task force but acknowledged it will be a challenge to get everyone on board.
“We are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but our economy is incredibly carbon-intensive,” said Kline.
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