Governor John Bel Edwards announces the creation of a “Climate Initiatives Task Force” that will work on ways to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to slow sea-level rise.

The Governor would not name any specific carbon emission targets at this point, but Edwards’ Chief Resilience Officer Charles Sutcliffe says it’s still early in the process.

“We don’t have specific goals in mind yet but we do want to make a clear link between greenhouse gas emissions and the success of our coastal master plan because they are related,” said Sutcliffe.

Edwards showcased his billion dollars a year coastal restoration plan last week, but officials admit it requires a slowing of sea-level rise to work long-term. Sutcliffe says it’ll have to be a global effort, but Louisiana can do it’s part.

“We have things that we can do, we have good geology for carbon capture, we have major investment planed in what is called blue carbon, which is the carbon you can capture through environmental restoration and conservation,” says Sutcliffe.

Discussing the impact of carbon emissions on the global climate can be controversial in an oil-rich state. Sutcliffe says the objective here is not to attack a particular group.

“We are not here to cast blame or villainize any part of our economy as we do this, and our other goal is to follow the science so that is what we are going to do,” said Sutcliffe.

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