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Governor John Bel Edwards announced in a January 31st news release that the Louisiana Climate Initiatives Task Force (“Task Force”) had unanimously approved the state’s first Climate Action Plan (“Plan”).

The Task Force had been created pursuant to Governor Edwards’ Executive Order JBE 2020-18 to develop strategies and actions to address the causes of climate change and the opportunities presented by the energy transition.

The Executive Order also committed the State of Louisiana to achieving net greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions by 2050 along with certain immediate goals and interim goals.

The Plan contains 28 strategies and 84 actions whose objective is to reduce GHG gases across the entire Louisiana economy. The Plan was formulated over a 15-month process by the Task Force (which included 49 public meetings).

Task Force members included:

• Government
• Private sector
• Academia
• Environmental and community advocates

Six sector committees were involved in the process and four advisory groups focused on the following considerations:

• Equity
• Science
• Legal
• Financial

The sector committees included:

• Agriculture, Forestry, Conservation and Waste
• Land Use, Buildings, and Housing
• Power Production, Distribution and Use
• Mining, Oil and Gas
• Transportation
• Manufacturing and industry

One result of the Task Force planning effort is stated to have included an update to Louisiana’s GHG inventory. This inventory calculated that GHG emissions are derived from:

• Industrial sector – 66% (refining, chemical manufacturing, natural gas processing)
• Transportation sector – 19%
• Electric power generation – 13%

The Plan recommendations include eight sections:

• Clean Energy Transition
• Industrial Decarbonization
• Actively Managed Methane Emissions
• Transportation, Development, and the Built Environment
• Natural and Working Lands and Wetlands
• An Inclusive, Low-Carbon Economy
• Collaboration and Partnership to Ensure Successful Implementation
• Accountability and Adaptability to Ensure Lasting Success

Described as “three priority policy pillars” are stated to include:

• Renewable Electricity Generation
• Industrial Electrification
• Industrial Fuel Switching to Low and No-Carbon Hydrogen

A link to the 177-page Plan can be found here.