HALLOWELL, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills will be holding the first meeting of the Maine Climate Council in Hallowell Thursday morning.
The inaugural meeting comes just days after Mills addressed the United Nations General Assembly and vowed to make the state carbon neutral by 2045.
"We are cutting our appetite for fossil fuels, on which we have come to depend too much for heat, electricity and transportation," Mills said in New York Monday.
Mills first proposed the concept of the Climate Council in April.
The group is made up of state leaders, scientists and business owners tasked with creating new policies and strategies to reach those progres
The Mills administration has already made moves to tackle the climate crisis with initiatives to install 100,000 new heat pumps by 2025 and expand the availability of electric cars.
"We are doing these things now, because we believe the irrefutable science. Maine won’t wait," Mills said.
A law passed by the Maine Legislature earlier this year set aggressive goals for reducing emissions and moving away from fossil fuels.
The law requires 80% of Maine’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2030, and 100% by 2050.
The Council will be made up of several committees focused on science and technology, transportation, coastal and marine impact and natural and working lands.
The first Climate Action Plan by the Council is expected to be submitted to the legislature by December 2020.
You can stream the meeting live here.