A more just, resilient, and thriving Minnesota is one that takes care of people and the planet.

​Every Minnesotan deserves clean air, water, energy, and transportation. Our state cannot afford anything less than the climate leadership we’ve known from our district, and we have an opportunity to carry forward that legacy to make Minnesota a model for the entire nation. As we set ambitious goals like 100% clean energy, it’s critical we have leaders in the legislature who understand the nuts and bolts of how to decarbonize our households, cities, and state equitably, with implementation that is realistic and doesn’t financially burden low income households.   
Equity matters in this work, because our state is home to some of the widest racial disparities in the country, and that includes the health impacts from environmental policies. Our history of redlining and the placement of highways and polluting industries in historically BIPOC communities has made it necessary to center justice in this work to undo these harms. This starts by holding industry accountable for pollutants because our communities should never bear the burden and harmful impacts caused by corporate producers and our state must play an active role in holding them accountable.​

If elected, in addition to championing our district’s clear priorities around strengthening our local economy and public schools and addressing violence prevention and community safety, I would champion our environment and climate work.  This is the beginning of my Climate Action and Sustainability Plan.

Protection of Minnesotans’ drinking water and natural resources

• Defend and strengthen Amara’s Law to ensure that PFAS is no longer introduced into our environment contaminating our drinking water and instead take steps to remove these chemicals from our environment.
• Reduce agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, decrease soil run-off, and create natural buffers between fields and waterways that act as filters. 
• Encourage agricultural best management practices such as crop rotation, no-till and regenerative practices, planting cover crops, and overall reducing industrial monoculture.
• Hold public hearings on MPCA to hold them accountable to keep our drinking water safe.
• Pass bonding bills to ensure investment in our drinking water infrastructure.
• Protect and preserve our tree canopy, particularly in BIPOC communities.
• Move our State towards a circular economy to promote waste reduction, recycling, and composting, to prevent burning or landfill waste. This will require State-level regulations to hold producers accountable, expanding access to composting in multifamily buildings, setting up programs such as one for bottle deposits, and providing resources for local communities. 
• Support the establishment of a Lowland Conifer Carbon Reserve, to increase protections for high priority state-owned lowland conifer forest land, and complement the Department of Natural Resources' ongoing designation process for Lowland Conifer Old Growth forests.

Promote renewable, carbon free energy and energy efficiency

• The 100% clean electricity law will drive much renewable energy development.  Alongside that we need ways to store and deploy that energy as it is needed. Michigan just became the first state in the Midwest to incorporate an energy storage standard as part of its climate legislation. Minnesota should do the same.  An energy storage standard will ease resiliency and reliability concerns as we transition away from fossil resources. 
• Minnesotans today are paying a hefty out of pocket fee on their energy bills because of Winter Storm Uri in Texas and will be for years to come.  That is in part because the various regions of the United States are not well connected and can’t easily move power. Minnesota should be leading in pushing the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) to build stronger ties with its neighbors (PJM, SPP, ERCOT, WECC).  A better connected electric grid is better for everyone.
• At the same time, strategically developed microgrids can provide resilience in times of need. Supporting Resilience Hubs in Minneapolis like the one at Sabathani can ensure critical power and services are available to community members during severe temperature and weather events. 
• Right now, demand response programs, like reducing air conditioner use on hot days, are not using the most accurate methods to compensate consumers. I want to work with partners to provide the correct market incentives to reduce energy consumption, particularly in times of high demand.
• Pursue thermal energy networks for renters and schools.  Beyond the cost and carbon savings, thermal energy networks can provide improved comfort and increase safety for renters and students due to weather extremes.  We can remove flammable gas from buildings and create a more comfortable and safe living experience for renters.
• Create pre-approved clean energy zones to get ahead of project demand.  By providing areas that are pre-approved from a permitting standpoint, Minnesota could continue to quicken the pace of renewable deployment, with community consent.  Nonprofits like the Great Plains Institute have done excellent work in connecting with communities around the state and would be a good partner for this work.  Similar programs are taking off in New York and Minnesota should look to replicate those efforts.
• Data centers are being targeted for Minnesota because of our favorable climate but they require large amounts of energy and could stress our existing systems. We need to create smart policy to ensure sufficient electricity infrastructure capacity, to recover and reuse data center waste heat, and ensure that existing consumers are not covering costs of these new developments.

Reduce transportation emissions

• Expand the transportation GHG and VMT law from 2023 and 2024. These new metrics should be incorporated into all forms of transportation project planning.
• Invest in and expand bus rapid transit (BRT). BRT provides quick-build, cost effective ways to improve our transit system. People need better and more reliable transit today, and BRT is the best way to deliver on that.
• Expand access to EV charging in all types of homes. Current EV charging programs from utilities and government leave gaps for certain home types such as condo buildings, which are common in our district. We must identify and close these gaps so that all residents have access​

Invest in green jobs with labor protections

• The sustainability transition is a local one. As we grow new green industries, we must seize the opportunity to right historical wrongs and provide opportunities for BIPOC people and those who have historically been disenfranchised to get in on the ground floor. ​61A needs to keep leading on the green jobs transition, including supporting projects like the conversion of the YWCA on Hennepin Avenue into the Rise Up Center, a green jobs training center. 
• As part of the Minneapolis decarbonization roadmap, we showed that Minneapolis alone will need 1,000 workers - from electricians to HVAC technicians to insulation installers - to retrofit homes and meet the climate challenge. As part of our climate change mitigation efforts, we must incentivize and support these family-supporting green jobs in our State to weatherize and electrify all of our homes so we can move towards a zero emission future. And as we build this industry, we must continue our State’s strong tradition of protecting labor rights and the right to collectively bargain and organize.