There’s a new climate player on the block, and it’s launching with an unusual mix of business, labor, and civic backing as it seeks to push “practical” energy legislation at the State House.

The Ocean State Climate Alliance was officially created in January, and founders Michael Kadish and Rachel Roseneck have been quietly meeting with key players across sectors as they seek to organize the business community around climate policy and implementation.

Kadish was a policy director on President Obama’s 2008 campaign, and has been working with renewable energy clients for nearly two decades. Roseneck previously served as an executive at a major national public affairs and strategic communications firm in New York. They bring experience from two of the country’s most consequential statehouses: California and New York.

Now they are positioning the Ocean State Climate Alliance as a bridge between lawmakers and the companies, workers, and local institutions actually building clean-energy projects. Their first major push is legislation to streamline residential solar permitting – a bill supporters say could reduce delays and lower costs for homeowners.

The bigger picture: There are already enough climate groups, special advocacy days, and State House coalitions floating around that it can be hard to tell which ones are built to last. And a promise to be "practical" can often be interrupted as a promise to be a pushover.

But what makes this launch notable is it already has significant validators. Erin Donovan-Boyle from the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO President Pat Crowley signaled their support in a press release announcing the Ocean State Climate Alliance.

It’s not yet clear how well-funded the organization is, but Kadish and Roseneck say this won’t be a group built only for this year’s election cycle. That being said, they were clear that they do plan to support General Assembly candidates – and maybe more – this year.