Policy Watch

Environmental Advocates Celebrate as Minnesota Pledges to become 100% Carbon-Free

Related

Share

Last month Minnesota became the 22nd state nationwide to commit to 100 percent carbon-free electricity—a victory for Great Lakes region environmental and environmental justice organizations that, for many years, advocated for such policy.

The law requires the state’s investor-owned utilities to be 100 percent carbon-free by 2040. The measure also requires benchmarks toward this goal for utilities to be 80 percent carbon-free by 2030, and 90 percent by 2035. It also requires that by 2035, Minnesota utilities must get at least 55% of their electricity from renewable sources.

With the passage of this law, Minnesota joins Illinois as a national leader on electric power decarbonization as the bedrock of climate action by lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and creating new, clean energy jobs. Michigan and Wisconsin have also made advancements toward becoming carbon-free among Great Lakes states.

Several grantees of Joyce’s Environment Program advocated for a 100 percent clean energy policy in Minnesota, including Fresh Energy, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), Climate Generation, and Union of Concerned Scientists. Fresh Energy, MCEA and other groups will be closely involved in the regulatory proceedings to implement this legislation over the next two years.

We applaud and celebrate the importance of passing this bill in Minnesota, as well as the many organizations, legislators, communities, and individuals that made this possible,” said Kristen Poppleton, Senior Director of Programs for Climate Generation in a blog post. “We also know this is just one part of a comprehensive climate justice-grounded policy package that needs to be passed during the 2023 legislative session.”

About The Joyce Foundation

Joyce is a nonpartisan, private foundation that invests in evidence-informed public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.

Related Content

Policy Watch

Michigan Joins Great Lakes Region States in Committing to 100% Carbon-Free Energy

With a slate of clean energy bills recently passed and expected to be signed into law on November 28, 2023, Michigan will become a national leader in efforts to transition to a clean energy economy.

Grantee Spotlight

Fresh Energy: A Midwest Climate Advocacy Leader

Minnesota-based Fresh Energy has been a leader in climate advocacy for more than 30 years, playing a significant role in what it calls “speeding Minnesota and the Midwest’s transition to a clean energy economy.”

Grantee
Fresh Energy

In The Media

Opinion: Lake Erie is a test for Northeast Ohio and its neighbors; we can ace it

Op-ed by the Foundation's Environment Co-director Elizabeth Cisar, Stephen Love of the Cleveland Foundation, and John Mitterholzer of the George Gund Foundation.

Source
Crain's Cleveland Business

Grantee Spotlight

We the People of Detroit

We the People of Detroit is a grantee partner of Joyce’s Environment Program. Learn more about the organization here.

Policy Watch

Environmental Advocates Celebrate as Minnesota Pledges to become 100% Carbon-Free

Minnesota becomes the 22nd state nationwide to commit to 100 percent carbon-free electricity—a victory for Great Lakes region environmental and environmental justice organizations that, for many years, advocated for such policy.

News

A Year at EPA: Lessons Learned

Environment Program Co-Director Elizabeth Cisar recently returned to the Foundation after serving an 18-month stint as a senior advisor in the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

News

University of Michigan Releases National Framework to Measure Energy Equity

The Energy Equity Project (EEP) at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability recently released the first national framework to comprehensively measure and advance energy equity.

News

The Joyce Foundation received the 2022 CGLR Great Lakes Changemaker Award

The Joyce Foundation received the 2022 Great Lakes Changemaker Award from the Council of the Great Lakes Region.