Climate 411

Minnesota’s 100% clean electricity bill could start a new era for climate action in the state

By Alex DeGolia / Twitter profile / Published: January 24, 2023

Photo Credit: Getty Images

This legislative session, Minnesota state leaders wasted no time getting to work on a strong clean electricity bill that achieves 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040, reduces health-harming air pollution, builds more good-paying jobs and sets the stage for economy-wide, climate action.

Pro-climate leaders have pushed for years to reclaim Minnesota’s early lead on climate action, when it passed the strongest renewable energy standard in the country back in 2007. Now, with pro-climate trifectas across the state’s Senate, House and governor’s office, as well as strong voter support for climate action, they have a major opportunity — and a mandate — to get it done.

Here’s why legislators and Governor Waltz should seize this moment to get Minnesota on the path to 100% clean electricity and leverage this policy to put in place strong limits on climate pollution capable of meeting the state’s climate goals.

Posted in Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Energy, Health, Jobs, Policy / Comments are closed

Michigan voters want to see more climate action this legislative session

By Alex DeGolia / Twitter profile / Published: January 18, 2023

Photo Credit: Steven Kriemadis

This November, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer won her bid for reelection and for the first time in 40 years, Democrats gained a majority in the state house and senate.

With this historic win comes historic opportunity. In the legislative session that started last week, Michigan has the chance to follow through on the climate goals set during Gov Whitmer’s first term with strong policies capable of ensuring a safer climate and healthier communities for decades to come. Recent polling commissioned by EDF Action underscores that voters are ready for state leaders to meet this moment by stepping up action on climate and clean energy.

Posted in Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Health, Policy / Comments are closed

Minnesotans are ready for state lawmakers to take bold climate action

By Alex DeGolia / Twitter profile / Published: December 8, 2022

After the November election, Minnesota policymakers are now in the best position than they have ever been to take critical steps to put in place policies necessary to tackle climate change. In doing so, they have the opportunity to create good paying jobs, protect communities from harmful air pollution, and secure a safer future for all Minnesotans.

A recent poll, commissioned by EDF Action and conducted by Global Strategy Group, found broad support among majorities of Minnesotans for ambitious climate policies – including those that limit carbon pollution, encourage more use of clean energy, and reduce pollution from specific sectors such as transportation and agriculture. Majorities of Minnesota voters also want the Governor and state lawmakers to do more to support these and other climate policies.

As Minnesota lawmakers prepare for the upcoming legislative session in January, the results of this poll underscore how popular climate action is among the state’s voters. Here are five key polling results:

Posted in Agriculture, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Innovation, Policy / Comments are closed

Protecting New Mexico’s climate future

By Alex DeGolia / Twitter profile / Published: October 20, 2022

New Mexico is home to one of the most ecologically diverse landscapes in the United States and a rich tapestry of cultures. New Mexicans love their state and take pride in keeping their land, air and water pristine for future generations. However, climate change poses a serious threat to the Land of Enchantment.

Every year, New Mexicans see and feel more and more severe climate impacts across the state. So far in 2022, New Mexico experienced the worst wildfire in its history, which burned more than 340,000 acres and destroyed more than 900 structures. Painful images of the Rio Grande running dry this summer and the devastation from the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon megafire are reminders that climate change continues to wreak havoc on New Mexicans’ livelihoods, cultures, recreational activities and even access to clean drinking water are all under threat. For these reasons, communities will look to our state policymakers for strong leadership on climate policy in the next legislative session. Action that will bring pollution down to safer levels and protect the state’s people, water, and land for generations to come.

Over the past several years, the state has made significant progress on climate change, including through the Energy Transition Act to reduce pollution from power plants, new nationally leading methane rules to reduce pollution from oil and gas production, and zero-emission vehicle standards to increase EV sales in the state and reduce pollution from transportation. While these have been milestone policies, additional policies are still critically needed to achieve science-based pollution reduction targets that will create a safer and more prosperous New Mexico. These additional policies are also necessary to reduce pollution in communities that have been most harmed by air pollution, including in tribal communities, as well as communities of color and people living below the poverty line.

EDF and our partners are fighting for effective and equitable climate solutions in the Land of Enchantment. In the upcoming legislative session, the state’s leaders have an opportunity to combine science-based goals to reduce climate pollution, accelerate a just transition to a healthier, more diversified and resilient economy, and ensure state agencies have the tools and resources necessary to assist communities and hold polluters accountable on the way to net-zero climate pollution by 2050. It’s an essential step forward and will make New Mexico a national leader in the fight against climate change.

Make a plan to vote this November, and sign up to stay connected on opportunities to support climate action in New Mexico here.

Posted in Cities and states, Climate Change Legislation / Comments are closed

North Carolina needs to build a clean and equitable power sector. Here’s how RGGI could be a tool for the job.

By Alex DeGolia / Twitter profile / Published: September 26, 2022

This blog was co-authored with William Barber III, Founder and CEO at Rural Beacon Initiative.

Photo credit: Pexels.

With the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act elevating the importance of state implementation of climate action, North Carolina is well-positioned to make critical progress to reduce climate-warming pollution from the electric power sector. Last year, the state took two steps to move towards a cleaner energy future. In July 2021, North Carolina initiated a rulemaking process to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) — a regional market that caps emissions from the electricity sector across 11 participating states, reinvesting revenues from the sale of allowances into programs that reduce electricity costs and boost the amount of energy generated from clean sources like solar and wind. Then, in October 2021, Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 951 (HB 951) into law, calling for a 70% reduction in carbon emissions from the electricity sector by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

Reaching these important goals demands that North Carolina move further and faster with new programs and intentional policies to drive energy sector transformation and catalyze investment in clean technologies necessary to cut emissions. It also demands that policies better prioritize benefits for environmental justice communities, ensuring that disparate pollutant burden is reduced and that RGGI revenues help advance energy justice by investing in historically disadvantaged communities. Executive Order 246, signed by Governor Cooper earlier this year, acknowledges that “responsible solutions to climate change must equitably reduce GHG emissions, increase community resilience, advance sustainable economic recovery and infrastructure investment efforts, promote public health and health equity, and ensure fair treatment and meaningful engagement in decision-making and implementation.” RGGI, with proper protections, offers a way to do this.

In July, EDF and Rural Beacon Initiative (RBI) released a report evaluating the interplay between the two policies: RGGI and HB 951. The analysis showed that by joining RGGI, paired with a robust rulemaking process that directly prioritizes equitable benefit and adoption of a strong Carbon Plan as required by HB 951, North Carolina can reap the benefits of a multi-pronged approach to decarbonizing the electric sector while ensuring climate benefits are maximized in the near-term, when they are most impactful.

HB 951 lays the regulatory framework to make this combination of beneficial policies a reality, and RGGI is an important tool that can be leveraged to achieve emissions reductions in a way that is durable, cost-effective and environmentally just.

Here are three key takeaways from the report:

Posted in Cities and states, Greenhouse Gas Emissions / Comments are closed

With the final Healthy Climate Plan, Michigan has the chance to lead on climate – but it must turn commitments into action

By Alex DeGolia / Twitter profile / Published: July 12, 2022

Detroit, Michigan. Photo credit: Pixabay.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the coal industry and its allies to curtail the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to tackle climate pollution from existing fossil fuel power plants. This setback makes action in Michigan and in states across the country – where governors and regulators have powerful tools to deliver meaningful climate action – more important than ever.

Fortunately, Michigan already has a head-start on several other states because in April, the state released the final version of the MI Healthy Climate Plan, an important next step in turning Governor Whitmer’s climate commitments into action. As the governor highlighted in the plan release, communities across Michigan have already been hit by a range of climate change impacts, “from a polar vortex and historic floods to dam breaks and week-long power outages,” and those threats will worsen without strong action.

Where does Michigan stand on climate progress now that it’s published this new Plan? Here are the major advances in the Plan, as well as areas where critical additional work is needed.

Posted in Cities and states / Comments are closed