January 24, 2025

The Sierra Club North Star Chapter brings the voices of our 50,000 Minnesotan supporters to the State Capitol to pass strong environmental laws. With Federal rollbacks, State action could not be more urgent. Here are our pro-active priorities for the 2025 Minnesota state legislative session:
Top Priority
- Land Use & Transportation - Support transportation & land use reforms that reduce climate pollution from transportation and increase housing affordability. This includes legalizing a variety of housing types in walkable communities, especially denser housing near transit.
- Building Decarbonization - Reduce climate pollution from homes and buildings via policies to transition from polluting appliances to clean energy options and reduce the use of fossil gas.
- Carbon & Habitat Reserve - Protect peatland bogs and forests which sequester large amounts of carbon and provide unique wildlife habitat by establishment of a land reserve; explore possible Tribal Nation co-management of these lands.
Next Level of Priority
- Automated Solar Permitting - Replace the current patchwork of local rooftop solar permitting rules with statewide instant permitting for residential rooftop solar, to help meet our clean energy goals.
- Agricultural Nitrate Pollution - Protect our climate and drinking water by reducing nitrate pollution of ground and surface water from agricultural runoff.
- Zero Waste Platform - Adopt the Zero Waste Coalition policy platform: policies to generate less waste, and address electronic waste and toxics in plastics.
- East Phillips Urban Farm - Pass bonding to create a neighborhood center including an indoor aquaculture and agricultural center, youth services, businesses, job training, and more.
Through volunteer-led advocacy, we are also tracking and working on:
- Ban on hunting of wolves
- Common sense policies for motorized recreation
- Regulation of trash in state waters
- Reduce use of road salt and promote alternatives
- Limitations on wake boats
Defense
- Oppose Rollbacks of 2023 Climate Victories - This includes Gov Walz’s budget proposal which would result in a $32 million cut to bus service, walking and biking; and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s claim to the Public Utilities Commission that burning trees and burning trash is “carbon free,” in direct violation of the 100% clean energy law.
- Oppose Fake Climate “Solutions” - Ethanol is a climate problem, not a climate solution. We will fight administration proposals which result in even more subsidies for ethanol – a disaster for not just for climate, but for wasteful land use, drinking water pollution and loss of total water supply.