The Climate Issue At Hand

Since 2010 and with each passing year, Rhode Island has experienced ever more severe weather events brought on by the effects of climate change. In response to events such as Hurricane Sandy, Tropical Storm Irene, and Winter Storm Nemo, the General Assembly passed the Resilient Rhode Island Act of 2014 which established the Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) and established specific greenhouse gas reduction targets. The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) is an active EC24 participant, helping shape statewide policy concerning reducing emissions in the transportation sector.

In 2021, the Federal Transit Administration issued a Sustainable Transit for a Healthy Planet Challenge to encourage transit agencies to adopt strategies for reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions; RIPTA accepted this challenge and has prepared this Climate Action Plan to guide its efforts toward greater sustainability in collaboration with federal, state, and local partners. This plan will be a living document, reviewed and updated on a regular basis to reflect new information, projects, plans, and accomplishments.

The Climate Action Plan includes the following:

• Overview of past and current initiatives and plans
• Inventory of RIPTA’s emissions
• RIPTA’s goals and targets for emissions reduction
• Specific strategies and actions to be undertaken by the Authority
• The Authority’s approach to implementing and monitoring this plan

RIPTA will work collaboratively with its federal, state, and local partners in carrying out a coordinated effort to minimize the impacts of climate change on vital government services, particularly public transit.

RIPTA is a participating agency of the Federal Transit Administration’s Sustainable Transit for a Healthy Planet Challenge. The challenge seeks “to encourage transit agencies to build on the progress already made and to further reduce [Greenhouse Gas] (GHG) emissions from public transportation to support President Biden’s GHG reduction goal.” The administration’s goal is “to achieve a 50-percent reduction from 2005 [GHG] levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution in 2030.” This Climate Action Plan is being submitted in response to the challenge.

The Authority will use the Action Plan as guidance in making business decisions in order to become a more sustainable agency and reduce or eliminate our carbon footprint. This plan shall be treated as a living document and will be reviewed on a regular basis and amended as needed to reflect new information, projects, plans, etc.

Click here to view and/or download RIPTA’s Climate Action Plan