Sisolak signs order to combat climate change in Nevada
RENO — Gov. Steve Sisolak signed an executive order Friday that calls for a collaborative effort between the public and private sectors to address climate change and reduce Nevada’s carbon footprint.
The order directs state agencies to work with other public agencies, the private sector and tribal governments to come up with a set of recommendations of how the state can reduce carbon pollution from sources including electricity, transportation and state buildings. The order calls for those recommendations to be delivered to Sisolak’s office by December 2020.
“In order to protect Nevada and reach our goals, we must continue to take steps to address this serious issue,” Sisolak said during a press conference in Reno, where he was joined by state agency directors and several state lawmakers.
Like many western states, Nevada has dealt with longer droughts and increasingly intense wildfires as the planet’s temperature continues to rise. In 2018, the state saw its largest ever wildfire on record with the Martin Fire, which burned 439,000 acres in northern Nevada and left behind a burn scar that was visible from space.
Sisolak said the executive order will build upon the climate change initiatives that were passed in the 2019 Legislature, including legislation that requires Nevada’s renewable portfolio standard to reach 50 percent by 2030 and another that requires the state to publish annual emissions reports.
Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 775-46-3820. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.