Session Update: Debating Climate Change Goals

On a final vote of 38-27, the Senate passed the omnibus jobs, energy and commerce policy and supplemental funding bill during a lengthy floor session Tuesday, April 26. Within the debate on the energy portion of the bill, an amendment was introduced to address climate change by establishing a target of 100 percent clean energy by 2040.

Offered by the ranking minority member of the Senate Energy and Utilities Committee, Senator Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato, said that setting the goal, while providing an off-ramp if costs or environmental impacts become unsustainable, would make Minnesota a leader in clean energy. “A group of Americans that would applaud us the loudest are the youngest Americans, who have the most to gain by us attacking this problem head on,” he concluded.

Senator David Senjem, R-Rochester, chair of the Senate Energy and Utilities Committee, called the amendment aspirational because, “We’ve got a lot of work do to.” He pointed to a number of changes already underway across the state, from the planned closures of some coal-fired plants to the numerous solar and wind initiatives cropping up. “We can put up all the renewable wind/solar out there, but if you can’t store it, it doesn’t do any good,” he said.

The amendment was not adopted.