Maryland Gov. Wes Moore advanced parts of the state’s ambitious, $1 billion-per-year climate change plan on Tuesday by signing an executive order.

The most significant parts of the order will push manufacturers to sell more electric water heaters and space heaters, as well as nudge utilities and gas companies to offer more clean-tech options to consumers for home heating.

The decision was applauded by environmental advocates, both in the school auditorium where Moore made the announcement and in statements and interviews afterward.

“This begins a transition for us to look at the pollution from those appliances and begin to reduce that pollution,” Josh Tulkin, head of the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club, said in an interview.

Jamie DeMarco of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network said his group is “particularly excited” about the heating equipment standards, “which will help transition Marylanders to heat and cool their homes without polluting.”

In addition to reducing pollution, residents ultimately will save money on their energy bills, DeMarco said.

The details of the new regulations aren’t set yet, and the Maryland Department of the Environment must propose them by the end of the year. The regulations aren’t expected to place any restrictions or requirements on consumers; rather, there will be requirements and incentives for companies to sell more low-emissions equipment to consumers.

Overall, the state has a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2045.

To unveil the executive order, Moore choose Elmer A. Henderson: A Johns Hopkins Partnership School in East Baltimore, where solar panels are being installed to power not only the school, but also homes in the neighborhood.

Moore, a Democrat, described the need to address climate change with a focus on environmental and economic justice.

“We cannot just talk about climate action in the realm of: ‘What are we doing to avoid catastrophe?’ It’s also about: ‘What are we doing to unleash opportunities?’” Moore said at the school. “Because we cannot ask people to get involved in action around climate justice by just simply telling them they need to see themselves in the consequences of inaction. They need to see themselves as the beneficiaries of action.”

Other elements of the executive order include:

• Requiring each state agency to develop its own climate plan as part of a “whole of government” approach to the challenge.
• Creating a climate change subcabinet, with a report on the state’s progress due Dec. 1 annually.
• Working with other states in a regional pollution cap-and-trade program to set a new limit for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
• Updating plans for infrastructure to support zero-emission vehicles.
• Setting targets for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, as well as for vehicle miles traveled, and incorporating them into the state’s long-term transportation construction plan.

Before signing the order, Moore sat down with a handful of students from the Henderson-Hopkins climate action group. The students shared their concerns about pollution in the Inner Harbor, asthma rates in their neighborhoods and the need to recycle more.

One student told Moore that she wants to be the president one day.

“I can’t wait to campaign for you,” Moore said. “I’m a really good campaigner.”