Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov or 608-219-7433
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, along with Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, today signed Executive Order #52, establishing the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change at the Urban Ecology Center’s Riverside Park location in Milwaukee.
“For too long we’ve been ignoring science, and frankly, we can’t afford to do it any longer. It’s time for us to deliver on the promise to our kids that we’re leaving them a better life and world than the one we inherited,” Gov. Evers said. “I am confident that this task force will find meaningful sustainable solutions to the climate crisis to carry our state into the future.”
The Task Force on Climate Change will advise and assist the governor in developing a strategy to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change for the benefit of all Wisconsin communities. Members of the task force will work closely with the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy, created through Executive Order #38. The task force will report their findings and policy recommendations to Gov. Evers by August 2020.
In the executive order, Gov. Evers stated climate change is a grave threat to the health, safety, and economic well-being of people and communities throughout Wisconsin. Gov. Evers has appointed Lt. Gov. Barnes to serve as chairman of the task force, who noted communities of color and low-income communities experience the first and worst consequences of climate change.
“All of Wisconsin can prosper in transitioning to a just and equitable clean economy,” Lt. Gov. Barnes said. “I’m eager to work alongside a number of brilliant and diverse individuals from across the state on this task force being created by Governor Evers, and I’m proud he’s given me the opportunity to lead it.”
Members of the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change will include:
Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes
Department of Natural Resources Secretary-designee Preston Cole or a representative
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary-designee Brad Pfaff or a representative
Department of Workforce Development Secretary-designee Caleb Frostman, or a representative
A member of the Senate majority
A member of the Senate minority
A member of the Assembly majority
A member of the Assembly minority
August Ball- Cream City Conservation, Milwaukee
Joe Bragger- Bragger Family Dairy, Independence
Kristofer Canto- American Family Insurance
Stacy M. Craig- Environmental Stewardship Advocate, Mason
Jeffery Crawford- Forest County Potawatomi Attorney General, Oconomowoc
Robert Garvin- We Energies, Milwaukee
Paul Graham- President of Central Waters Brewing Company, Amherst
Anna Haines- University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point, Stevens Point
Bill Hogseth- Wisconsin Farmer’s Union, Elk Mound
Dylan Jennings- Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Great
Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, Odanah
Sherri Johnson- University of Wisconsin Population Health Instsitute Director, Madison
Amber Meyer-Smith- Clean Wisconsin, Madison
Kathleen McGinty- Johnson Controls Inc
Rob Palmberg- Dairyland Power, La Crosse
Mike Peters, President of WPPI Energy
Chris Pollack- Wisconsin Farm Bureau, Ripon
Jeffery Rafn, Ph.D.- President of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Green Bay
Doug Rebout, Roger Rebout & Sons Farms, Janesville
Stephanie Salgado- Youth Climate Action, Madison
Kerry Schumann- Wisconsin Conservation Voters, Madison
Kirsten Shead- Milwaukee Water Commons, Milwaukee
Mark Stoering- President of Xcel Energy, Eau Claire
Bob Stone- IBEW Local 2150, Menominee Falls
Krystal Westfahl- Minocqua Area Chamber of Commerce, Minocqua
Executive Order #52 can be found here.
