Connecticut's New Climate Policies
Lawmakers took action on climate change in the 2025 Connecticut legislative session. Here's what you need to know about our state's new climate policies!
​​Safer Communities
Connecticut residents will have more protection from the impacts of climate change thanks to the bipartisan passage of Senate Bill 9, now Public Act 25-33. Now signed into law by the governor, this policy works towards a safer and healthier Connecticut by protecting people and vulnerable infrastructure from climate impacts like flooding, extreme weather, and heat waves. It does this by:
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Improving transparency about flood risk by requiring flood risk disclosure when someone is buying a home, and ensuring that insurance companies inform people that average policies do not include flood coverage.
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Preparing towns to face climate impacts by strengthening roads and bridges against sea level rise, updating evacuation plans for residents to take the safest routes possible during an emergency, and ensuring that our water supplies are protected from inundation and sewage.
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Establishing Resiliency Improvement Districts that create a framework authorizing municipalities to finance capital projects addressing climate change mitigation, adaptation, or resilience.
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Improving planning for residential development by requiring coastal site plan review for construction of single-family homes in areas facing sea level rise.
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Protecting our water resources by requiring the next state water plan to consider the impacts of climate change, and to plan for reducing negative impacts.
Cleaner Air
HB 5004, now Public Act 21-125 a new law passed this session, addresses the causes of climate change by stopping greenhouse gas emissions at the source, getting our state back on track toward its climate commitments. This policy will help improve air quality and protect the health and well-being of our communities by:
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Updating the Global Warming Solutions Act with a net-zero-by-2050 target.
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Supporting the economy through workforce development and local sustainable purchasing.
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Leveraging nature-based solutions to protect our shoreline communities and sequester carbon.
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Building a foundation for future climate action by creating comprehensive plans for residential heat pump programs, retrofitting state buildings for energy efficiency, establishing a solar canopy strategy, and improving renter access to clean energy and energy efficiency programs.
More Affordable & Efficient Energy
Thanks to the hard work of our advocates and widespread grassroots support, we successfully fought off an attack on our state's long-standing and award-winning energy efficiency programs funded through the systems benefits charge. These programs save consumers money and are the best way to lower long-term energy costs. ​​
The final version of this year's energy affordability bill, SB 4, unfortunately lowers the amount of clean energy the state is required to purchase, but it does include positive policies that will:
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Support thermal energy networks that provide affordable and efficient heating and cooling to neighborhoods using energy from below ground.
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Expand demand response programs to incentivize consumers to reduce their energy use during peak hours.
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Eliminate polluting energy sources like landfill methane gas and biomass from the highest class of renewable energy under the Renewable Portfolio Standard, the policy that requires electric providers to purchase a certain percentage of clean energy to meet customer electricity demand.
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More Resilient Farms
Climate-driven natural disasters and extreme weather events can be devastating for farmers, whose livelihoods rely on their crops. SB 1497 (now public act 25-152) creates a safety net for farmers by establishing a grant program through the Department of Agriculture that will reimburse farmers who have suffered climate losses. ​