In September, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Scharf Dykes spoke in Silver Sands State Park, in Milford, to discuss a new state report, which shows that Connecticut is “heading in the wrong direction” on climate change.

Connecticut is currently not on track to meet the goals for greenhouse gas emissions that were set by legislature. The recent report shows that transportation emissions are higher than they were in 1990, though according to state law, economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions should be 10 percent below the 1990 levels by 2020, 45 percent below 2001 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2050.

Dykes cited that smoke from western wildfires affecting air quality, storms like Hurricane Ida causing flooding and heat waves are all contributing to the fact that “climate change is here and the impacts are coming sooner than we anticipated”. 

“We need to use every tool at our disposal to decrease emissions across our economy. It means we have to continue the conversation about the need for additional tools,” said Dykes.

To learn more and find the full report, visit Portal.CT.gov/DEEP/Climate-Change.