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- In The News
- May 2023
Bloomberg Law: Minnesota Governor Signs ‘Transformational’ Environment Package
May 25, 2023
Alliance Executive Director Casey Katims comments on Minnesota’s latest sweeping climate action.
“Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed into law Wednesday an ambitious climate and energy package that cements the state as a new environmental policy leader.
The legislation, HF 2310, was part of the state’s $72 billion budget deal. The package includes strict regulations on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), $20 million to kick off the state’s new green bank, and new incentives for electric vehicles.
The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s newly won control of the governor’s office in tandem with the House and Senate paid off with climate policy that is ‘nothing short of transformational,’ said Casey Katims, executive director of the US Climate Alliance.
‘Climate action of this scale doesn’t happen on its own,’ he said. ‘Governors can do so much more so much faster when they have climate champions in the legislature.’”
About the Alliance
Launched in 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the U.S. federal government’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28 percent by 2025, 50-52 percent by 2030, and 61-66 percent by 2035, all below 2005 levels, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories continue to advance innovative and impactful climate solutions to grow the economy, create jobs, and protect public health, and have a long record of action and results. In fact, the latest data shows that as of 2023, the Alliance has reduced its collective net greenhouse gas emissions by 24 percent below 2005 levels, while increasing collective GDP by 34 percent, and is on track to meet its near-term climate goal of reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
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