Alliance members are working to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping temperature increases below 1.5 degrees Celsius by reducing emissions, accelerating action, centering equity, and tracking progress. 

Explore Rhode Island's policies and actions across the Alliance's 10 key policy areas. Numbers presented below only reflect the number of policies in this database and thus may not reflect all climate policies pursued.

rhode_island

GHG Targets + Governance

Just Transition + Equity

Industry

Pricing Carbon + Valuing Damages

Electricity

Transportation

Resilience

Natural + Working Lands

Climate Finance

Buildings

total

Implementation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Legislation enabling state participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

Clean Heat RI launched in September 2023 with $25 million in American Rescue Plan Act federal funding. The original program supported residential, low-income, small business, and nonprofit installations switch from fossil fuel heating and inefficient cooling to clean, energy-efficient heat pumps for both heating and cooling.  The program offers no-cost consultation services and financial incentives to help make home heating and cooling upgrades more affordable.
The program received an additional $10 million in new funding in 2025 which will be used to prioritize support for moderate- and low-income households installing air-source heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and necessary electrical upgrades. Eligible low-income households can continue to receive up to 100% of project costs, while moderate-income households are newly eligible if they currently heat with oil, propane, or natural gas.

Clean Heat Rhode Island

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the nation’s first mandatory, market-based cap and trade program to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). As a participating state, Rhode Island receives CO2 allowance proceeds, which are invested in a variety of consumer benefit programs, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, direct energy bill assistance and other greenhouse gas reduction programs.

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

buildings

H 7538

Each employer of fifty (50) persons or more, located within one-quarter (1/4) of a mile of Rhode Island public transit service who provides a parking subsidy to employees, shall offer a parking cash-out program.

H5800: Relating to Towns and Cities -- Zoning Ordinances

This act would add "providing for residential development in all or some of the areas encompassing commercial districts" as a purpose a zoning ordinance must address.

Requires zoning ordinances to provide for residential development in all or some of the areas encompassing commercial districts in a city or town. These must be objective standards that allow for mixed-use or medium to high density residential development in commercial districts, and requires municipalities with a population greater than 40,000 to provide for residential development in at least 30% of the area in commercial zoning use districts.

Adaptive reuse of any commercial building that is converted to residential units or mixed-use development is also a permitted use, which includes offices, schools, religious facilities, medical buildings, and malls where at least 50% of the existing gross floor area is converted into residential units.

Residential Development in Commercially-Zoned Lands

transportation

S 2273

SB 0178: Apprenticeship Pathways To Earning A Bachelor's Degree Act

This bill creates the Apprenticeship Pathways to Earning a Bachelor's Degree Act, which enables individuals to earn a bachelor's degree at public higher education institutions in the state by earning credits through registered apprenticeship programs. The bill requires each public higher education institution to adopt policies by January 1, 2024, establishing these nontraditional pathways to earning a bachelor's degree, subject to review and approval by the Board of Education. The Board is also directed to adopt policies to address the eligibility of registered apprenticeships and to convene a workgroup to advise on the implementation of these new pathways. The bill also requires the Board to provide a plan by August 1, 2025, for increasing the number of students who earn credit towards or complete bachelor's degrees through registered apprenticeships.