With the signing of Act 696 of the Arkansas 86th General Assembly (HB2460), Governor Mike Beebe established the Governor’s Commission on Global Warming. By design the Commission represents a wide diversity of views and perspectives with members coming from business, industry, environmental groups, and academia. The Governor appoints seventeen of the twenty-one members of the Commission and two members each are appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Arkansas State Senate and by the Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives.

The Commission was charged with setting a “global warming pollution reduction goal” for Arkansas and a “comprehensive strategic plan for implementation of the global warming pollution reduction goal.” The Act sets several study and evaluation requirements and required a final report to be provided to the Governor by November 1, 2008. The final report of the GCGW offered findings to the Eighty-Seventh General Assembly on which state action can be based.

CCS Initiatives in Arkansas:

• Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Forecast

• Climate Change Action Plan