GUILFORD – The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators has selected state Senator Christine Cohen (D-Guilford) as its 2022 Connecticut ‘State Lead,’ charged with coordinating relevant, in-state environmental public policy events and growing NCEL’s network of state legislators who will assist in advancing environmental issues all across America.
“NCEL’s State Leads are vital to promoting cross-state collaboration on environmental policy,” said Jeff Mauk, Executive Director of NCEL. “Having a legislator in each state to help facilitate NCEL’s work is invaluable, as they can introduce legislators to emerging environmental topics and facilitate introductions with peers across the country, creating new avenues for cooperation and sharing lessons learned.”
“I’m honored that the NCEL has recognized my environmental work and my environmental responsibilities here in Connecticut and has charged me with bringing people together for the betterment of Connecticut’s air, soil and water,” Sen. Cohen said. “More and more, environmental policy is also business policy, and transportation policy, and energy policy, so it’s important that we work across party lines, share ideas at the local and national levels, and come up with workable solutions for both our environmental challenges and our environmental opportunities.”
Sen. Cohen is Senate Chair of the legislature’s Environment Committee. Since she was elected in 2018, Sen. Cohen has worked tirelessly on behalf of Connecticut’s environment. While she worked with colleagues to pass important legislation securing offshore wind, solar net-metering, banning fracking waste and the creation of the state’s water plan, most recently Sen. Cohen led the passage of the plastic bag ban, an update to the bottle recycling bill, a ban on PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam and food packaging, shellfish restoration laws, as well as creating sewage “right to know” laws. Sen. Cohen also created and co-chairs the state legislature’s bipartisan Coastal Caucus, which is a group of lawmakers who focus on the issues affecting coastal towns, cities and waterways.
Created by and for state legislators, the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators is a nonprofit that organizes over 1,200 environmentally committed state legislators from all 50 states and both major parties. NCEL provides venues and opportunities for lawmakers to share ideas and collaborate on their environmental priorities while embedding notions of equity and justice every step of the way.