Here’s what Tim Walz did on climate change as Minnesota governor

In introducing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’ running mate, the
yet, or his work to reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels. But climate advocates are already heaping praise on Walz.
“Tim Walz had the best climate record of any of the VP contenders and has been unafraid to take on Big Oil,” Jamie Henn, of Fossil Free Media
.
“I am all in for Walz,” said Gina McCarthy, former Biden White House national climate advisor. She now co-chairs a climate coalition called
. “He can’t be bought by the fossil fuel industry. Walz is a climate champion moving Minnesota toward 100% clean energy.”
Last year Walz
requiring all Minnesota power plants to use 100% climate-friendly energy such as wind and solar by 2040. That’s five years slower than the
set by President Joe Biden. But in making the announcement, Walz echoed the
that transitioning the energy system to cleaner fuels also creates more jobs.
“Minnesota will continue to lead the way on combating climate change, and we’ll create clean energy jobs in the process,” Walz said. He also underscored the urgency scientists say is needed. “When I hear people say, ‘You’re moving too fast,’ we can’t move too fast when it comes to addressing climate change.”
Scientists say humans must limit global warming to
above pre-industrial levels to avoid the
. But the world
to achieve that goal under current policies.
“There’s a clear intentionality that Governor Walz has shown throughout his political career to center environmental issues and climate justice,” says Antonio Arellano with
, a youth voter organization. “We hope that he brings that now to the national level.”
Climate change has been a theme through Tim Walz’s political career. As a representative in Congress, he
. It would have capped planet-heating emissions across the economy, but the legislation failed to pass the Senate.
Walz was elected governor in 2018 and began working on climate issues his first year in office.
“He noted that Minnesota had failed to meet its emissions goals, so he
to create a new subcabinet focused on reducing emissions and addressing climate change,” Arellano says. Walz also signed
that accelerated the permitting process for building renewable energy sites,
for clean energy workers and
. On Earth Day this year,
he’d signed over 40 climate initiatives into law.
Walz’s Republican rival JD Vance
and the fossil fuels causing it. As recently as 2020 Vance expressed concern about climate change and using natural gas to fuel power plants. But as a
he doesn’t think there is a climate crisis.
Now he’s criticizing Walz for his work on the issue.
“This is a guy who has proposed shipping more manufacturing jobs to China… Who wants to make the American people more reliant on garbage energy instead of good American energy,” Vance told reporters on his campaign plane Tuesday.
Former President Trump and Vance claim the Biden administration’s effort to
and help China’s manufacturing sector. The GOP candidates also regularly criticize, what they call, the “
” and praise domestic oil and gas production. The
actually contains the words “Drill, baby, drill.”
The
with campaign contributions and the industry’s largest trade group, American Petroleum Institute, is
to “cement American energy leadership, protect consumers and help reduce inflation.”
“We encourage the Harris-Walz campaign to detail their stance on the key issues that will shape America’s energy future,” wrote Mike Sommers, API president and CEO in a statement. Specifically, the group wants a pause on new natural gas export permits lifted and more oil and gas leases for drillers on public lands and offshore, even as the U.S. is
.
While climate change has not emerged as a key element of this campaign so far, the addition of Tim Walz means the candidates at the top of this November’s ballot will have very different views – and records – on climate change.