PROVIDENCE — Will Rhode Island achieve its Act on Climate goals?

It’s a key question that has lurked in the background since the law was passed in 2021. Lawmakers accelerated the Renewable Energy Standard in 2022, which requires that utility companies source 100% of electricity from renewables by 2033, but otherwise the years since have been dismal for climate action.

But lawmakers this session are ramping up scrutiny on the Act on Climate law and the state’s plans to achieve net-zero targets, and examining whether the energy affordability crisis threatens to roll back environmental programs.

On the Senate side of the Statehouse, a study commission chaired by Sen. Sam Zurier, D-Providence, quizzed Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management director Terry Gray and two members of his climate staff on the feasibility of the state Climate Action Strategy released last year.

The strategy, which outlines a scenario for Rhode Island to reach net-zero emissions, is based on existing law. The fiscal 2027 budget proposal from Gov. Dan McKee released in January, however, proposes slashing renewable energy programs and pushing back the target date of the Renewable Energy Standard to 2050 in a bid to lower utility costs.

Members of the study commission are skeptical of the governor’s budget proposal.

“Does the EC4 have the resources to model how emissions would change if we altered the Renewable Energy Standard?” Zurier asked. The Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council, or EC4, is a team of state agencies in charge of climate policy and is chaired by Gray.

“We could do that modeling, but we don’t have the funding for it,” Gray said. “It is possible to do that modeling.”

The latest greenhouse gas inventory from DEM shows the state’s emissions are 19% below the 1990 level baseline set up by the Act on Climate. Rhode Island’s current renewable and electrification policies will ensure it meets the act’s 2030 goal of a 45% reduction compared to 1990 emissions, but more drastic changes will be needed to meet the ongoing goals of the law.

Decarbonizing Rhode Island requires electrification, tying the emissions to however that electricity is generated. Today, almost all of the state’s electricity comes from natural gas-fired power plants. Meeting the Act on Climate law requires retiring those power plants in favor of solar panel arrays and offshore wind projects.

Policies such as the Renewable Energy Standard expand the region’s renewable energy supply by pushing greater demand for the resources.

The Senate isn’t the only legislative chamber scrutinizing the state’s climate mandates. On Thursday, the House quizzed Brown University professor Stephen Porder, who gave committee members a presentation on how they could electrify the economy to meet the Act on Climate mandates.

Border told committee members that electrifying homes, vehicles, and industries would reduce emissions, save money, and lower health costs in the long term. States such as Texas and California are investing more into solar systems and utility-scale battery storage to meet their energy needs, he said.

Porder said in 2014 he fully electrified his house, switching out his gas- or oil-powered furnace and appliances for fully electric heat pumps, hot water heater, and stove.

“We don’t need a perfect energy grid; my house reduced emissions by 75% with the same grid it always had. We used more electricity,” he said.

Porder noted that to keep such transitions affordable, the switch to electrification should be made during new builds or big renovations, and the state permitting process should be sped up. Rooftop solar is cheaper in Australia, he said, because the permitting process is more efficient.

The other part of achieving a renewable energy transition is to revise electric and gas rates, and come up with new ways to fund transportation, electricity, and heating, he said. The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority is funded mostly through a gas tax paradox: when people buy more gasoline for cars, the agency has more money. When people buy less gas for cars, because, say, they’re making the switch to public transit, the agency gets less overall funding.

“We can’t hope that this is going to happen, we need to craft policy, we need to make it happen,” Porder said.

While committee members were broadly receptive to Porder’s presentation, they were mindful of the balancing act between keeping things affordable and making the transition to renewable energy.

Rep. Lauren Carson, D-Newport, said she felt the state is stuck with one stream of money to pay for lowering utility costs and making investments in renewables, and reducing costs would win the tug-of-war every time.

“That’s one of the economic challenges we face as we flip from subsidizing, which we need to do and continue to do, and trying to get the money into investments,” she said. “I don’t know how we’re going to make that switch.”