As a state and nation, we must take swift, bold action on climate change. Environmental policy – just like criminal justice policy – must be made proactively instead of reactively after a crisis. Our state is known for its lakes, wildlife, and forestry – Minnesota can and must lead the nation on preservation and clean energy policy.
Justice supports the 100% campaign for clean energy by 2040, continuing to put environmental guardrails on data centers, Prove it First legislation, a data center moratorium, and investing in clean drinking water infrastructure. Our energy policy must also acknowledge that climate policy has disproportionately hurt our Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. Our climate policy must focus on a clean energy future while also acknowledging the harm of previous policies like the redlining of the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul and actively invest in these communities.
Not only is green energy good for our environment, but it is also good for our labor force. Investing in renewable energy sources like wind and solar creates good-paying jobs that can put thousands of Minnesotans to work. Environmental protection also means enacting laws to ban harmful chemicals, whether it is for our croplands in rural Minnesota that harvest and supply food for the entire country or for our local plants and pollinators.
