Two Green MLAs have returned to P.E.I. after attending a climate conference at Yale University — and Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker said they're bringing back a number of ideas that could be useful for P.E.I., as the province aims to reduce its carbon emissions.

Bevan-Baker attended the Northeast Climate and Energy Summit along with MLA Michele Beaton.

The event, put on by the Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference, included elected representatives and staff from various eastern states, such as Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and New York, Bevan-Baker said, along with the two P.E.I. MLAs, and some representatives from Quebec.

"I came back with a whole bunch of methodologies and ideas that the states are employing in order to meet their ambitious targets that I think are entirely applicable here on P.E.I.," Bevan-Baker said.

Many takeaways

Bevan-Baker said he was particularly impressed by the leadership that individual states have demonstrated in addressing climate change, and setting their own ambitious emissions targets.

"There's not an awful lot of vigorous leadership coming from the White House, let me put it that way, or in Washington on this. So that's sort of left the states and municipalities in the U.S. to pick up the torch and to run with it, and they've absolutely done that," Bevan-Baker said.

Bevan-Baker says there was a lot of discussion about wind energy at the conference. (CBC)

Bevan-Baker said he heard many ideas about equitable transitions within agriculture, and electrifying transportation systems. He said there was "a lot of talk" about offshore wind generation.

"We do well here with wind generation on land, but there's also some pushback — and legitimate pushback — from the communities in which these wind turbines are placed. Offshore generation, to a large extent, mitigates that social acceptance that has to be part of any project."

'There's a will to do it here'

Bevan-Baker said he feels "very optimistic" some of the ideas he learned about could translate to P.E.I. — and that others within government will be receptive.

Earlier this year, MLAs voted to set more ambitious emissions targets for the province, and there is now a special committee dedicated to finding ways to achieve those goals.

"There's a will to do it here, we have a mechanism in place to make that happen," Bevan-Baker said.

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