Climate Initiative Task Force: Process 

Achieving the state’s emission reduction goals in a manner that is inclusive and balanced requires a deliberate and transparent planning process. The Task Force, its sector committees, and advisory groups comprise over 140 experts from state government, colleges and universities, the private sector, and civil society that have advised and contributed to the portfolio of strategies and actions contained in the Climate Action Plan. The four advisory groups were charged with providing technical expertise to the Task Force and committees throughout the process and upon request regarding questions that transcend individual committee scopes. The six sector committees were charged with developing and evaluating implementable emission reduction actions and comprehensive strategies that significantly reduce net GHG emissions across all aspects of their respective sector.

The Task Force is chaired and staffed by the Office of the Governor, Coastal Activities (GOCA). Under leadership of the Executive Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Activities, GOCA serves as the staff and managers of the Task Force, advisory groups, and sector committees in coordination with advisory group and committee chairs. As Louisiana’s Innovation and Collaboration Hub, the Water Institute of the Gulf (TWI), assists GOCA as it leads the planning process for and development of the Climate Action Plan. This Planning Team, comprised of GOCA and TWI, ensures the Task Force remains on track to meet deliverables within their respective timelines.

Structured Decision Making

The planning process for developing the Final Climate Report will be grounded in a Structured Decision Making (SDM) approach. SDM is an approach that integrates science and policy to break down complex decisions and identify solutions that achieve the desired ends (referred to as “fundamental objectives” in SDM) in a manner that is explicit and transparent. SDM is not a prescriptive approach to problem solving, but rather it encompasses broad methods that rely on clearly articulating fundamental objectives and analyzing potential impacts to those objectives using data-driven analysis. See the figure for the six steps of the iterative SDM process. The charges to the Sector Committees and Advisory Groups will support the SDM process and will help the Task Force make informed, data-driven decisions on which strategies to pursue to best meet the emission

Reduction Goals and other desired outcomes for Louisiana.