The state’s Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council approved a $1.5 million spending plan for the coming fiscal year on Thursday, drawn from 30 proposals totaling more than $4.1 million.
The council, chaired by Department of Environmental Management Director Terry Gray, coordinates state agencies’ work under the 2021 Act on Climate, which sets Rhode Island’s emissions reduction targets.
“The demand for the EC4’s $1.5M in annual funding continues to grow,” Gray said, noting requests came from 13 agencies and organizations and that demand has nearly doubled over the past two years.
The University of Rhode Island will receive $476,312 for three projects on municipal energy resilience, energy efficiency and environmental education. The Department of Education gets $165,000 for work on resilient, low-carbon school buildings. DEM will use $50,000 to create the state’s first dedicated funding source for regenerative agriculture, through its Local Agriculture and Seafood Act grant program.
Chris Kearns, acting commissioner of the Office of Energy Resources and the council’s vice chair, said the cycle also supports weatherization and energy efficiency outreach, workforce development and the state’s participation in energy docket proceedings.
The full spending plan is posted on DEM’s website.
