Minnesotans Make a Statement for Clean Energy

The Minnesota Clean Energy & Jobs campaign, of which the Sierra Club's North Star Chapter is a member, held a Clean Energy and Jobs Day at the State Capitol in St. Paul the first week of February.

"We held this lobby day to support increasing the state's renewable energy standard to 40 percent by 2030, increasing our energy efficiency standard to 2 percent savings per year, and improving access to renewables throughout Minnesota," says Jessica Tritsch, at left, a Minneapolis-based organizer with the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal to Clean Energy campaign. "We made a bold statement at the state legislature that Minnesotans want to see clean energy now!"

"With the Capitol under construction, we had no space for a rally," Tritsch says, "but 400 people made their way from all over Minnesota for a full day of training and meetings with legislators, including over 150 youth who also got a chance to meet with Governor Mark Dayton and a large number of faith leaders who held an interfaith prayer circle during the day at the Christ Lutheran Church in St. Paul."

A youth team, including high school students from around the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, set the agenda, and identified youth leaders to run the meeting. "They did a fantastic job, and Sierra Club youth leader Sunny Leung had a featured role in the meeting," Tritsch says. 

"I was able to speak directly to the governor," says Leung, below. "It was such a great experience to interact with the state leader, and I'm hopeful that Minnesota will move toward a renewable energy standard within our expectations."

"Governor Dayton fully supported our policy platform of 40 percent renewables by 2030, and he mentioned the Minnesota Beyond Coal campaign several times during the meeting," Tritsch says. "He had so much fun he stayed an extra 45 minutes to take selfies with youth and others in attendance."

The Clean Energy & Jobs campaign includes over 65 partners: environmental groups, labor unions, clean energy business groups, youth organizations, faith communities, and more. "The coalition really stepped up to make sure we had representation from across the state and from a variety of constituencies, and the Sierra Club stepped up in a big way," says Tritsch. 

The Sierra Club's volunteer-led Clean Energy Action Nights played a pivotal role in turning Minnesotans out for the lobby day. Tritsch gives special kudos to Sierra Club volunteers Julie Drennen and Faith Holschbach and interns Shelby Witherby and Yifei Sun, all of whom "went above and beyond in helping to coordinate the action nights that had more than 10 callers a night." 

Tritsch also gives a shout-out to fellow Minneapolis-based Sierra Club organizers Michelle Rosier and Alexis Boxer, Rochester-based clean energy organizer Andrea Kiepe, North Star Chapter director Margaret Levin, and chapter lobbyist Justin Fay, for their role in making the day such a success. "Now our challenge is to make these policies a reality!"

Get involved in the Minnesota Clean Energy & Jobs campaign and learn more about the Sierra Club's work to move America beyond coal.