Letter to Congress: We're counting on your support and leadership for climate legislation
CEE strives for a healthy, carbon-neutral economy that works for all people. Across programs and operations, our efforts align to foster an energy economy with cost-effective, practical solutions that promote prosperity for all. But the evidence is clear that climate change threatens the shared prosperity we seek.
In August 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest assessment report. Representing some 200 scientists, 195 countries, and 14,000 independent studies, the report states firmly that human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. Earth is likely hotter now than it's been in the last 125,000 years. The world has warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution, and because we haven't acted quickly enough, our global surface temperatures will now continue to rise until at least mid-century.
This summer Minnesota faced unprecedented air quality lows because of drought-driven wildfires. Although we all feel the health impacts of smoky air, they are felt most harshly by under-resourced communities and communities of color because of inconsistent access to affordable healthcare and other supports. Without serious change, the IPCC's data-informed modeling indicates that our planet will be more than 2°C warmer by the end of this century, massively destabilizing our air, water, land, and life on Earth. And again, our most under-resourced populations will bear the brunt.
There has never been a more critical window than right now for federal action to steer our economy towards clean energy and climate solutions.
So, in collaboration with Fresh Energy, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, the 100% Campaign, and more than 30 other dedicated Minnesota organizations, CEE co-signed a letter in late August to Minnesota's U.S. congressional delegation calling for "public, active support for the strongest possible climate investments and policies as part of the infrastructure and budget reconciliation processes, consistent with the goal of achieving 50% carbon emissions reduction by 2030 and net-zero economy-wide by 2050."
Read the full letter to Congress.