Governor McAuliffe came to First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach to sign Executive Order 19, convening the Governor’s Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission. The Commission will evaluate the recommendations made by then-Governor Kaine’s Climate Commission, determine what actions were taken on those recommendations, and issue an updated final report.  The Executive Order gives the Commission one year to complete its work.

This bipartisan Commission comprises leaders from around the state including Kenneth Wright, Mayor of Portsmouth and current HRPDC Chair, other local elected officials, members of the General Assembly, business leaders, environmental advocates, faith leaders, and industry representatives. Former Mayor of Hampton and current Secretary of Natural Resources Molly Ward will co-Chair the Commission with Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran. Some of the 32 others joining Mayor Wright on the Commission with ties to Hampton Roads include:

• Aubrey Lane, Secretary of Transportation
• Maurice Jones, Secretary of Commerce and Trade
• Gordon Helsel, House of Delegates (R) (former Mayor of Poquoson and HRPDC Member)
• Ray Toll, Old Dominion University
• John Wells, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary
• Jerome Barber, Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Temple
• Dr. JoAnn Haysbert, Hampton University
• Neil Gray, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

“We need to prepare Virginia’s coastal communities to deal with the growing threat of climate change, which is why I’ve re-convened the Climate Commission for the first time in four years,” stated Governor McAuliffe. “Virginia has the opportunity not only to be a leader in finding creative ways to mitigate climate change in the future but also to adapt to the effects of climate change that we have already begun to see here in the Commonwealth.”