Better tools needed to fight climate change

Already in our state we are feeling the debilitating effects of climate change. The extreme weather events of last August’s microbursts, the January 2015 blizzard and Hurricane Sandy have all crushed our businesses and homes.

Our rivers and bays are flooding more often, with greater severity, leading to property damage and the burden of increased flood insurance premiums. The warming waters of Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean are crippling the fishing industry that has been at the core of our economy for generations. Climate change is costing all of us money and time. It’s making it all that much harder to live, work and conduct business in Rhode Island.

Far too often businesses and residents are left on their own to deal with the consequences.

That is why I support the EnergizeRI Act (introduced last week in the General Assembly).

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The EnergizeRI Act works by placing a fee on companies that sell fossil fuels in our state. It then takes that revenue stream and injects it back into our economy by giving the majority of those funds directly back to the businesses and residents of our state as a rebate.

The act also sets aside $35 million in the first year into a Clean Energy and Jobs Fund to make renewable energy and energy efficiency available to small businesses. These changes alone are estimated to create more than 1,000 local jobs in just the first two years, as well as drastically cut our carbon emissions. Most importantly, the increased incentives for businesses to use renewable energy and energy-efficiency initiatives in their properties would mean they would be able to lower their energy costs and mitigate future costs resulting from the effects of climate change while also growing our economy.

Climate change is a global problem that will require a global solution. But we can ensure that we have the means to counteract the effects of climate change on our homes and on our businesses.

We need to give our businesses and our economy better and smarter tools to address and mitigate climate change. •

Kenneth J. Filarski is a registered architect in Rhode Island and founder of Filarski/Architecture+Planning+Research. He is also a member of the leadership team of the EnergizeRI Coalition.

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