Doing better for the climate

This city’s update to its 2013 Climate Action Plan is grabbing the attention of community members, council members and candidates alike.   

Called the Climate Equity Plan, over 500 written comments have been made on a draft that was released in April, and dozens of people spoke at the public hearing held on June 8, 2023.  The plan is expected to be returned to the city council’s public health and safety committee on July 12 where it could be forwarded to the full council for consideration. 

“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 Minneapolis Health Department Director of Sustainability Kim Havey. 

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 estimates that 45% of that is coming from natural gas, 28% from electricity that is produced by burning fossil fuels, and 24% from motor vehicles. 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 that, “Redlining practices of the 1920s systematically provided less green infrastructure and located less desirable buildings like manufacturing facilities and transportation corridors through BIPOCI, 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.”

The plan has been attracting attention throughout the city.   

“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.

At the hearing on June 8, most speakers supported the goals and objectives of the plan, but concerns were raised by many about the need for a clearer timeline, lines of accountability and funding.  

The only southside council member on the committee is ward 2’s Robin Wonsley.  “While the vision laid out in the draft Climate Equity Plan is great, I have a number of serious concerns that align with the majority of the testimony that residents gave. The Climate Action Plan has minimal timelines included in the bulk of its strategy proposals,” wrote Wonsley after the meeting. “Currently, the plan does not include an ownership/implementation section so we can be aware of who is charged with completing each action.”

Community organizations, including MN350 and Community Power, have been organizing and educating about the plan for months. Community Power has hosted several candidate forums where the plan has been discussed, and MN350 has organized community members in each ward to meet with council members.

Still, Dan McConnell, a Longfellow resident who also represents building trades labor unions, shared his concerns at the hearing about not being consulted. “We support this initiative, but we have concerns about omitting engagement with labor,” said McConnell.  “As the plan is just a draft, we would respectfully ask for the opportunity to engage with staff to improve the plan including incorporating provisions to bring people from underrepresented communities into union careers.”  

“Add timelines to the strategies, measurable outputs and identify who is responsible for each part of the plan to increase the likelihood of its success,” said Rebekah Doyle, Community Power’s co-director.   

“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. 

“We need to allocate dollars to support these programs and we need to do so in an equitable, progressive way,” said Wonsley. “Even if it’s not fully understood how we will pay for these strategies, it’s concerning that the plan isn’t even fully transparent about the costs.”

Funding is a concern raised by Ward 12 city council candidates, as well. 

“I appreciate many aspects of the plan and we must take the climate emergency seriously. However, in the 101-page document outlining the plan, there is no clear framework as to how the project will be funded or what the exact or estimated costs are,” said Ward 12 candidate Nancy Ford. ”One of the few ways a plan like this could be funded would be a sales tax presented to voters, similar to what happened in Denver. A proposal like this, however, would not come without further controversy as to how we should be using new tax revenues. I cannot consider having a position one way or another on this plan when I have no idea of the associated costs or the sources of funding.” 

“I’d like to see the current Xcel and Centerpoint Energy franchise fees paid to the city that go into the general fund as the primary source of revenue for this work. Those funds, in whole or in part depending on the cost of this plan, should be sequestered into a dedicated Climate Equity Fund,” said Ward 12 candidate Luther Ranheim. “We would need to backfill the general fund with other revenue sources. There’s no cost estimate in this plan. So, my biggest question is, what is this plan going to cost Minneapolis taxpayers?” 

“I want to see the franchise fee and the PCAR fee dedicated directly to climate action,” said Ward 12 candidate Aurin Chowdhury.  “I am interested in what this discussion foreshadows for when the franchise agreement is up in 2024 and the city council will need to renegotiate it. I am interested in what is being thought of in Chicago’s franchise agreements– making the utility shareholders pay into a climate fund, not just putting the burden on the ratepayer. We have opportunities to be creative.”

People are both cautious and 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.  

“I will be meeting with staff from the sustainability department to gather clarity to these concerns and offer additional feedback that my office has gathered,” said Wonsley, “with the goal of strengthening it as much as possible before council takes final action on it.” 

“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.

“I see the biggest strength of this plan in its focus on heavily investing in historically marginalized communities/BIPOCI majority areas of Minneapolis, neighborhoods that were red-lined and did not receive the investments of Whiter, wealthier neighborhoods,” said Ranheim.

“Minneapolis must take on its role as one of the nation’s leading climate resilient cities,” said  Chowdhury. “The ambitions of Climate and Equity Plans’ goals can meet this mark.”

“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.”