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Minnesota lawmakers roll out plan to cut greenhouse gases
Minnesota has an ambitious goal of cutting greenhouse gases 15 percent by the year 2015, and 80 percent by 2050. Now comes the hard part, making it happen. Toward that end a coalition of DFL lawmakers Friday rolled out what they dubbed the "Green Solutions Act" which is designed to make those targets become reality. "We now have a real plan with real action to get us toward those goals," Senator Ellen Anderson of Saint Paul told reporters, "And to put Minnesota on the cutting edge of the new green economy, to support and lead energy efficient innovations around the country and the world." There's money to be made, Anderson asserted, in creating and designing products that produce clean energy such as wind turbines, and more familiar products that simply help conserve energy. "Minnesota is the Silicon Valley of windows," Representative Jeremy Kalin of Lindstrom quipped,"We have Andersen, Marvin, Cardinal Glass and SAGE Electrochromics. 3M creates almost every film that you can imagine to coat a window." Kalin sees dollar signs for Minnesota as the world goes greener. "We're not just talking about the windows themselves, but research and development jobs. High end, high paying engineering jobs that spin off of it. The possibilities for job creation and investment and money making are endless." Cap and Trade The authors of the bill, and many in the clean energy movement, assume that federal and state government will eventually treat carbon dioxide emissions the same as toxic pollution, and set limits or caps on how many tons of carbon power companies, large industries and other large sources can release into the air. The Green Solutions Act sets up a "cap and trade" program which would require those companies and utilities exceeding the carbon limits to buy allowances from the state. Those would be issued in limited quantities and sold at auction. Once companies reach their targets, or move under the carbon cap, they could resell or trade their credits. "The sectors of the economy emitting greenhouse gases, causing global warming pollution, will have to purchase allowances in order to cover those emissions," explained Representative Kate Knuth of New Brighton. "It's a very simple and powerful way to set a market framework." Knuth said the notion of curbing man-made causes of climate change is catching on throughout the business world. "Just yesterday 480 investors met at the United Nations," Knuth noted. "These are people who control $20 trillion in investments who came to talk about how we address global warming." Revenue from the auctioning of carbon allowances would go to the Climate Trust Fund, which would be used to help Minnesotans cut greenhouse emissions. That would include grants, subsidies and financial assistance to help people and businesses adopt more energy efficient technology. California Emissions Standards The plan to cut down on carbon also targets vehicle exhaust emissions. The "Minnesota Clean Car Act" would mandate that Minnesota adopt California's emissions standards, which are more strict than the federal standard set by the EPA. "That would bring about a 30 percent reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from automobiles by 2016," said Representative Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park. Hortman, who authored the bill, predicts it will bring down carbon emissions by 13 million tons by the year 2025. "It doesn't require that different cars be made. It requires a different mix of the cars that are already on the market be sold in the state, so that when we average all those cars together we're emitting less global warming pollution." The Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association issued a news release Thursday sharply critical of Hortman's bill. It said those California standards would "take many trucks and SUVs off showroom floors in Minnesota." It quoted MADA executive director Scott Lambert as saying, "The issues raised by this legislation are serious, and the potential impact on the state's economy is incalculable." Transit in the Mix The push for mass transit expansion in Minnesota is part of another piece of legislation, the transportation bill, but backers say building a regional network could also play a big role in the greening of Minnesota. "If we build out our transit system, which is called for in that bill we'll be saving 430,000 tons of greenhouse gases by 2010," Representative Frank Hornstein of Minneapolis told reporters. "Building out the transit ways, the light rail, the commuter rail buses and doubling the bus system would have a huge impact." Transit supporters say it not only reduces trips made in fossil fuel burning cars and trucks, but also encourages more sustainable and earth friendly development patterns. The rail lines attract mixed-use developments, blending housing, retail and office space accessible without driving. "The new economy is just around the corner," Senator Anderson declared, "The new green economy that's going to be a worldwide economy."
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