Wisconsin Executive Order No. 52: Creation of the Governor's Task Force on Climate Change
On October 17, 2019, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed Executive Order (EO) No. 52 to create the Task Force on Climate Change, an initiative that will bring together involved state agencies and a diverse coalition of stakeholders representing the business and agricultural communities, the utility companies, organized labor, the tourism industry, Native Nations, and institutions of higher education, who will collaboratively work to develop recommendations to mitigate and adapt to the consequences of climate change to the benefit of the Wisconsin inhabitants.
The EO acknowledges the need to continue building resilient communities and developing strategies to mitigate, adapt to, and prepare for climate-related effects in Wisconsin.
The Task Force will be chaired by the Lieutenant Governor or a designee. It will work closely with the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy created by EO 38, and its duties concerning adaptation and resilience will include:
- Climate change impacts evaluation and measures to address it: it will assess available scientific research to evaluate the effects of climate change on Wisconsin's citizens and environment, and review actions taken by the state's cities, counties, and Native Nations to address this matter.
- Stakeholder engagement: it will host public hearings with affected stakeholders to listen on how extreme weather, rising lake and river temperatures and other effects of climate change are impacting their health and well-being.
- Reporting: the Task Force shall also issue a report detailing the work done and recommendations directed to the Governor on or before August 31, 2020, and will provide additional ones as requested by him.
Finally, the EO directs the Department of Natural Resources to (i) work with the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) and the University of Wisconsin Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies to update and re-issue WICCI's 2011 report "Wisconsin's Changing Climate: Impacts and Adaptation"; (ii) collect updated and impartial scientific data on climate change in Wisconsin, and (c) make that data available to the Task Force.
Publication Date: October 17, 2019
Related Organizations:
- Wisconsin Governor's Task Force on Climate Change
Resource Category:
Resource Types:
- Executive order
States Affected:
