Doing better for the climate

This city’s recently release update to its 2013 Climate Action Plan is grabbing the attention of community members, council members and candidates alike.
Called the Climate Equity Plan, a draft was released in April and the city is taking public comment through June 5 before a new draft is released and approved this summer.
“We heard from hundreds of people in our community in the development of this new climate equity plan and worked hard to ensure it reflected what we were hearing from community priorities,” said Kim Havey, who has been leading the effort as the Minneapolis Health Department’s Director of sustainability.
The goal of the plan is to significantly reduce climate pollution by 2030 and make the city carbon neutral by 2050. Strategies include insulating 30,000 homes, reducing natural gas emissions, supporting 1,000 new green jobs, and expanding green space and local food production.
According to the plan, in 2021 3.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were released into the air in Minneapolis. The city estimated that 45% of that is coming from natural gas, 28% comes from electricity that is produced by burning fossil fuels, and 24% comes from motor vehicles. In order to meet the goal of zero GHG emissions by 2050, as outlined in the plan, transitioning to using clean renewable energy sources for heating, electricity and transportation is called for.
The new plan focuses on equity as well as climate action. It outlines a tale of two cities and states, “Redlining practices of the 1920s systematically provided less green infrastructure and located less desirable buildings like manufacturing facilities and transportation corridors through BIPOC, low-income neighborhoods.”
The plan notes that climate change “hits our most vulnerable communities the hardest,” and prioritizes the city’s designated Green Zones, cultural districts and lower-income households. “Achieving equity,” it says, “means that all people – regardless of their race, color, gender, age, sexuality, national origin, ability, or income – live in safe and healthy communities.”

FEEDBACK AND FORUMS
The plan has been attracting attention throughout the city.
More than 500 people have commented on the draft. “We’ve already started incorporating some of the feedback into the next version of the plan which will be shared in the near future,” said Havey.
Council members in the southwest Wards of 7, 11 and 13 have hosted community meetings about the plan. Ward 13 Council Member Linea Palmisano planned to hold a forum on June 1, and has met about the plan with groups including MN 350 and neighborhood associations.
“I am as eager as anyone to get started,” said Palmisano. “We have lots of current needs that we can work to scale up quickly, such as home weatherization, green cost share, green careers and biochar. We already work on these programs and others, such as 0% loans, free Home Energy Squad visits, Truth in Sale of Housing (TISH) Energy Reports and more have continued while we’ve been developing this new plan. And that is just a start – we will be in a continuous process of creating new programs and then coming back to the community for feedback on how it’s working and consideration of any further policies.”
Community Power has hosted several candidate forums where the plan has been discussed. MN350 has also helped educate community members on the plan.
Tangletown resident Rikki Honnold got involved with MN350 in 2020. “People changed their behaviors so quickly for coronavirus, and the city government passed urgent emergency ordinances, but the city’s urgency against climate change still feels slow,” Honnold said. “When I found out that there was a dedicated group specifically helping guide policy to reduce CO2 emissions, I joined in to volunteer for the sake of my children’s future air quality.”
Honnold added, “I do not see the city’s plan as having any actions toward providing subsidies and financing for low-income families, for both weatherization and electric appliances.” She is pressing for a study presented to the city council in February to be included in the plan. That study recommended starting with 4,400 buildings to transition to electrification instead of natural gas in 2024. “The CEE study presented to the council has better goals and a more urgent timeline than the city’s draft plan,” she said. “It would be nice to see someone with the political will to make electrification a priority, starting this year.”

HOW WILL IT BE PAID FOR?
“While I’m pleased the city’s proposed plan begins to show an understanding between climate action and racial equity, paying attention to the needs of our historically neglected neighborhoods, I don’t think the mayor has in any way begun to reckon with the amount of revenue the city is going to need to raise to meet the climate goals he’s committed to,” said Longfellow resident Michelle Hensley. “He and the city council must make the major spewers of greenhouse gases in Minneapolis pay fees for their pollution, and raise the almost $4 billion in revenue Minneapolis is going to need to meet their climate pledges.”
While there is no budget presented in the plan, it identifies three sources to facilitate implementation through a “Climate Legacy Initiative.” These are increasing revenues from franchise fees that are currently charged for gas and electricity based on a percentage of use, applying a social cost of carbon to emissions through the state’s Pollution Control Annual Registration (PCAR) program that allows cities to collect fees from polluting businesses, and by utilizing new federal, state, and local grant funding. Palmisano said she is open to using all three sources.
“The Climate Equity Plan is meant to be an aspirational document to set aggressive and ambitious targets, like Race to Zero, that drive our decisions into the future,” said Palmisano. She noted that implementation could be accelerated with adequate funding and staff. “It is up to me, as a policy maker, to help us put into play the infrastructure that will reach those targets.”
The plan has attracted the attention of southwest council candidates.
“I am glad that equity is at the center of the city’s plan. For too long, diverse and historically polluted neighborhoods have had to bear a disproportionate environmental burden,” said Scott Graham, who is running for the Ward 7 seat. “Weatherizing and electrifying homes in the Green Zones and across the city will be a huge lift, but it is an essential piece to reducing the energy burden close to or below 4% of income for Minneapolitans. This work will also support the creation of new green jobs for residents, another crucial piece for both our local economy and climate.”
“The plan should outline a comprehensive funding strategy that meets the moment,” said Katie Cashman, who is also running for the Ward 7 seat. “I would like to see the plan outline the cost of each action item, and clearly identify which city departments are in charge of implementing the action steps. The city needs to make it as easy as possible for building owners and homeowners to transition from gas-powered furnaces and water heaters to electric appliances. Outreach efforts need to be included in the budget. I’d also like to see the downtown district energy system transition off fossil fuels entirely.”
“It’s critical that the city do better in the ‘order of operation’ across Climate Plan projects. For example, the draft plan’s focus on reducing car trips is particularly harsh and burdensome on Ward 13 due to the lesser density, distance from the urban center, and older population,” said Kate Mortenson who is seeking the Ward 13 city council seat. “In terms of the opportunity to build or retrofit infrastructure with talent sourced from within underinvested communities, we need a stronger tie-in with organized labor, including how to develop interest, recruit and train the anticipated climate workforce. Probably the most mysterious aspect of the draft plan is how it will be paid for.”

CAUTIOUS, CURIOUS AND HOPEFUL
People appear to be both cautious and curious, but also hopeful, about the potential of this updated plan and how it might help city government to “…collaborate with residents to advance environmentally just policies that achieve deep carbon emission reductions, repair past environmental injustices perpetrated upon Indigenous, Black and Communities of color, and create solutions for a sustainable, inclusive economy,” as its mission says.
“Sadly, climate change will cause drastic lifestyle changes in 10 years if we don’t make gradual lifestyle changes like electrification and transitioning away from natural gas now,” said Honnold.
“We are still accepting feedback and want to get this right. City staff would like to move this forward in June,” said Palmisano. “If there is significant community pushback, the plan might get delayed until 2024. I think we can all agree that this is too important to wait and we need to get this work moving forward.”
“We’re proud that in the years to come, not only will we be doing our part to mitigate climate change, but we’ll have a cleaner, greener, healthier city, and our community members will be able to see our beautiful city evolve over time,” said Havey.
“It’s a chance,” said Hensley, “for Minneapolis to be a bold leader and set a national example of how a city can address climate change.”
“If successful,” added Havey, “this could make Minneapolis one of the most sustainable cities in the world.”