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State Representative Rick Hansen
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-6828
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
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MINNESOTA LEADS STATES THROUGHOUT THE REGION IN FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
ST. PAUL – A bipartisan group of legislators from seven Midwestern states are holding press conferences in each of their capitols today to announce regional cooperation through the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL), and highlight legislation they will be working on to address energy and climate change issues. The states include Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
This announcement comes after the Minnesota Legislature achieved success on the House floor this week in passing the most aggressive renewable energy standard in the country by an overwhelming margin of 123 to 10. The Senate passed the same version of the bill just a week ago with similar success on a vote of 63-3. Governor Pawlenty is now expected to sign the bill into law.
Minnesota's success in this initiative has inspired other states throughout the region to follow suit on renewable energy and climate change. Legislators in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin announced similar climate change initiatives today. According to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, the Midwest region produces more greenhouse gasses than India or Japan. Such a cooperative region-wide initiative could make a significant difference in the region's contribution to the climate change crisis.
“State legislators have the power to act now to reverse course and try to lessen the damaging effects climate change will bring to the Midwest and Great Lakes region. States must take the lead to spur the federal government to act on the global climate change crisis," said Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul). Hansen is a member of several House committees that oversee environmental issues. He is also a key Minnesota contact with the National Conference of Environmental Legislators (NCEL).
By working together, these six states can significantly reduce the region's overall contribution to global climate change and harness great economic opportunity by placing these states on the cusp of a new and booming renewable energy industry.
Aside from the 25/25 Renewable Energy Standard, Minnesota legislators are partnering to find other new, and innovative bipartisan solutions to the global warming crisis.
One such initiative – a bill chief-authored in the House by Rep. Maria Ruud and in the Senate by Sen. Ellen Anderson – is getting a lot of attention this session. This bill, known as the Global Warming Mitigation Act of 2007, would set net Minnesota greenhouse gas reduction targets from 2005 levels of at least 15% by 2015, 30% by 2025, and 80% by 2050. It would also implement a cap-and-trade system to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from the generation of electricity. By doing so, Minnesota would have the potential to realize additional economic and environmental benefits as a regional hub for the new and competitive energy industries of the 21st century.
"Sound scientific evidence, potential economic growth, and the prospect of energy security for this state are compelling us to act," said Rep. Maria Ruud. "Working together with our legislative colleagues from both parties on this important initiative, Minnesota can lead the entire region toward significant energy and environmental reform."
Sen. Ellen Anderson shares Ruud's enthusiasm for the bill and hopes that other states throughout the region will work together with Minnesota to set the Midwest on course to make a meaningful and lasting difference in the fight against global climate change.
“One state acting alone won’t solve our problems, but if we work together, states can have a measurable impact limiting the amount of carbon dioxide we emit in our country,” said Sen. Ellen Anderson, chair of the Senate Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Finance Division and member of several other Senate environment committees. " Left unattended, the impacts of climate change will do further and perhaps irreparable damage to the region's natural resources and economy. We must act now to prevent this from happening."
Many of the Minnesota legislators partnering in this regional effort attended the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators Midwest/Great Lakes forum in December where they discussed and learned about climate change and policy options they could pursue to address it. The NCEL is a bipartisan organization that was formed in 1996 for the purpose of providing state legislators with an opportunity to coordinate their activities with respect to national legislative organizations, and to share policy ideas and efforts on environmental issues.
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