Governor Whitmer’s Climate Council draft plan calls for major investments in clean energy, job creation

Plan is a strong start, Michigan can go even further to become a national leader

LANSING – The Michigan League of Conservation Voters today issued the following statement regarding the release of the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions’ key recommendations to address climate change and transition Michigan’s economy to clean, renewable and more affordable energy.

“Time is up – we must be bold in tackling head-on the impacts of the climate crisis on our state, and this draft plan maps out a series of measurable steps we must enact. It also should be a springboard to pushing the envelope further and making Michigan a national leader in growing the clean energy economy,” said Lisa Wozniak, executive director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “This is an economy-wide call to action that requires we double down on reshaping our economy to promote a just and healthy future for us all.  All Michiganders stand to benefit from the jobs created and the cleaner air and water we will leave behind for generations to come.”

Key highlights in the draft plan include:

• Establish a 50% Renewable Portfolio Standard by 2030; Retire all coal plants by 2035
  
• Build out electric vehicle charging infrastructure necessary to support 2 million EVs (light duty, heavy duty, and public transportation) by 2030
• Adopt a 2% energy waste reduction standard for electric utilities and a 1% standard for gas utilities

The Council on Climate Solutions was created by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 to advise her and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.  It consists of 14 Michigan residents with a broad array of backgrounds and expertise, and was supported by dozens of workgroups and hundreds of issue experts from across the state and nation. The draft set of recommendations will be open for public comment for 30 days, and a final plan will be released March 14 for Gov. Whitmer’s implementation.