Gov. Dannel Malloy pushed new environmental protection and energy bills at a Monday press conference in Hartford.

The environmental bill is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by the year 2030.

The energy bill would help increase the use of renewable energy and promote savings of over $1 billion to consumers.

Malloy says changing the way things are done is important in order to prevent climate change-related disasters.

"Climate change is real, it's man-made and it's here." says Malloy. "We see the effects everywhere -- unprecedented drought, and wildfires in western states, global temperatures increasing every year, and more powerful unpredictable storms than we have ever encountered in modern times." 

Officials at the event urged people living along the coastline to prepare for rising sea levels.

According to projections, the state could see up to 20 inches of sea level rise by 2050.