After four years of relentless, hard-nosed advocacy, a group of Beyond Coal activists in Minnesota is seeing its efforts pay off. Until July 23, the state’s Public Utilities Commision had been using obsolete figures on the estimated statewide costs of fossil fuels in its financial planning decisions. The figures, which hadn’t been updated since 1997, failed to account for the cost of environmental damage due to pollutants like CO₂ and sulfur dioxide.
Volunteers educated themselves about the technicalities of the issue, then gathered public comments, shared stories of the health effects of pollution through public hearings, testimonials, and videos, crafted an online campaign, and encouraged Minnesotans to share their perspectives with the PUC. As a result of these efforts, the PUC now estimates the costs at a range of $9.05 to $43.06 per ton of CO₂, based on the “social cost of carbon,” rather than the outdated $0.44 to $4.53 per ton of CO₂—a significant improvement.
Minnesota Beyond Coal activists were met with opposition from Peabody, the largest coal corporation in existence, which filed for bankruptcy in 2016. It came in the form of testimony to the PUC from a hired economist, Robert Mendelsohn, whose questionable arguments included: “If fully cleansed of real pollutants, the exhaust from fossil fuel combustion only differs from a baby’s breath by having almost no oxygen.” He further argued that “Minnesota is currently a net beneficiary of warming.” In fact, Minnesota’s warming climate causes droughts, and leads to the spread of pests and invasive species, among other problems.
This victory has positive outcomes for Minnesotans and anyone else who values clean air and cares about public health. For one, now that Minnesota will factor in the costs of environmental damage and health costs of fossil fuels into its budget planning, renewable energy sources like wind and solar will be more cost competitive, leveling the playing field to some degree. Also, any reduction in fossil fuel usage has a positive effect on air quality as well as reducing ocean acidification and climate change.
The passionate advocacy of Beyond Coal grassroots activists is making real change that will benefit all Minnesotans and sets a standard for other states to follow.