Climate Change

Minnesota rural residents and state agencies work together on climate

At the State Convening, rural participants identified and presented their shared climate action priorities, and state agency staff also presented on a number of key climate issues for rural Minnesota.

Will the teeth of trade rules swallow the Paris climate deal?

Earlier this week, the European Parliament approved the Paris climate agreement, joining more than 60 other countries in signing the deal and paving the way for this historic global effort to enter into force. While the Paris deal is truly a major step forward, countries will have to overcome a series of hurdles created by trade agreements to reach their climate goals.

Raising Rural Voices on Climate Change

This blog overviews day 1 of the 2016 Rural Climate Dialogues State Convening.

The TPP's climate blindspot

Free trade deals, and in particular the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), have taken a beating this election season. Most of the noise on trade from Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton has focused on the loss of jobs linked to the offshoring.

Let’s make sure the Clean Power Plan provides opportunity for rural, low-income communities

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the Clean Power Plan, President Obama and the EPA’s regulation to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants.

Climate change without a plan

On a wintry day in March, residents from Winona, Minnesota gathered around tables with flip charts and markers to develop a plan for how the Mississippi River community could respond to climate change.

Carbon Markets: Reducing Carbon Emissions or Missing the Mark?

The Clean Power Plan is the predominant plan in the U.S. to address climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging states to set up regional carbon markets to comply with the plan; however, carbon markets to date have not achieved their intended goals.

Climate Democracy for Rural Communities

In early March, farmers and rural residents of southeast Minnesota gathered for three intensive days of presentations, discussion and deliberation around the thorny issue of climate change. The Winona, Minnesota Climate Dialogue participants, most of them in shirts and jeans, were a blend of ages, cultural backgrounds and jobs.

Clean Power Plan and an equitable energy transition in rural America

In this season of political speeches and debates, a harmful myth continues to surface: taking action on climate change will ravage the economy. Recently, this myth has been applied to the Clean Power Plan, the first regulation in the U.S. to limit carbon emissions from existing power plants.

Collaborating for the Community: Winona Climate Dialogue Convenes

This blog overviews the 2016 Winona County Rural Climate Dialogue.