Climate Change Task Force

Opportunities for Action

• Events this year (including educational opportunities and rallies for action)

• Legislative Session Information (including Capitol Letters, MEP priorities, and more Advocacy resources)

• Action Alerts to support LWV priorities

Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP)

LWVMN is an MEP partner where we facilitate most of our climate change and environmental advocacy. Learn more here.

Task Force Meeting Dates

Meetings are held via Zoom on the 1st Wednesday of each month from 9:30-10:30am.
If you would like to join, please subscribe to the Climate Change Task Force list.

Missed a meeting? Review the notes.

Task Force Charter

Reason for this Task Force

To bring together League of Women Voter members in Minnesota who have a specific interest in climate change, and provide a network for sharing information, defining action opportunities, coordinating education and advocacy activities, and inspiring others to work on the issue of climate change in our state and local communities.

Overall Role and Responsibilities of Task Force

• Any member of the League of Women Voters in Minnesota is able to serve on the Task Force. To join, subscribe to the Climate Change Task Force list to begin receiving meeting invites and agendas.

• All Task Force members will abide by the LWVMN Code of Conduct and will work together to uphold our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Nonpartisanship policies.

• Task Force members will help to build long-lasting and collaborative partners with LWVMN so that we can maximize our impact on the important work of climate change in Minnesota.

Assumptions

• LWVMN is a MEP member and we automatically sign-on to letters that have been vetted by the membership and go out on MEP letterhead.

• We want to maximize the strength that League can bring to the table and not become a simple “rubber stamp” for any specific program issue. When possible, we would take leadership on environmental issues that also intersect with “good government” issues such as transparency.

• League volunteer leadership is needed to move this forward. 

• All actions must build on current League positions, and/or program planning could be undertaken for discussion/approval at the LWVMN Convention or Council.

• All federal lobbying needs to work with LWVUS. 

• We will use the LWVUS Toolkit for Climate Action as a primary source for our work.

• All state lobbying will be done either in partnership with MEP, through the UMRR ILO, or as part of LWVMN Observer & Lobby Corps. Consider having a League member to serve on each of the MEP Cluster committees, which include: Climate & Energy, Water, Transportation, Great Lakes, Pollinators, and Sulfide Mining.

• We cannot partner with any political parties or party-led groups; instead, we must maintain nonpartisanship. 

• We will bring a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) lens to all the work we do.

Overall Tasks & Timeline for Task Force Members

• Task Force members can submit information for inclusion in the monthly LWVMN All Member News that goes out on the second Monday of the month. All submissions must be sent to mwitte@lwvmn.org and received by 12 Noon the Friday before that second Monday publication date.

• To create additional resources, the Task Force will try to elevate the work of other environmental and climate change partner organizations versus trying to "reinvent the wheel."

Reports

• This Task Force will report to the LWVMN Civic Engagement Director.

• Notes will be submitted to Task Force members after every meeting, within one week of the meeting.

• The Task Force is also invited to submit a report to the LWVMN Board and at annual LWVMN Council/Conventions to help keep LWV members up to date.

Task Force Resources

Climate Note Project

• Climate Note Report

• Climate Note Sample

Official Partnerships and Reference Materials

• The Upper Mississippi Inter League Organization

  • Annual Report - May 2022

• All Studied and Approved Positions for LWVUS and LWVMN

• The LWVUS Climate Change Toolkit

• LWVUS Statement on the Environment

• Minnesota Environmental Partnership

Additional Environmental Organizations

LWVMN does not officially endorse any of these organizations. However, the Task Force would like to list organizations that many League members are currently involved with:

• Bipartisan Climate Solution – being promoted at the national level

• Duluth for Clean Water – moving onto a better, safer alternative in defense of clean water for Minnesota

• Fresh Energy – a nonprofit organization leading the transition to a clean, efficient, and fair energy system

• Friends of the Mississippi – hails bipartisan support for state land conservation funding

• The International Dark-Sky Association – a mission to protect the night from light pollution

• MEP Partner Organizations – learn more about MEP’s partner members

• Minnetonka Climate Initiative – advancing sound climate action by building citizen leaders and providing education, outreach and advocacy

• MN350 – end pollution damaging our climate, speed transition to clean energy, create a just and healthy future for all

• Solar United Neighbors MN – envisions a clean, equitable energy system that directs control and benefits back to local communities, with solar on every roof and money in every pocket

• Southcentral Minnesota Clean Energy Council – a dedicated group of citizens who share a passionate interest in renewable energy and energy efficiency

• University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program – includes more than 2,300 active master gardeners who share U of M horticultural expertise in almost every county of Minnesota

• West Metro Climate Action – broadens understanding of the urgency of the climate crisis

Additional Environmental Events and Resources

• Water Resources Center (WRC) at the University of Minnesota – advances the science of clean water for all Minnesotans through innovation, workforce development and knowledge exchange

• Adapting to Minnesota's Changing Climate – policy proposals for building resilience in a fast changing state

• Minnesota River Basin Water Storage Forum – learn about water storage and the diversity of water storage solutions to slow the flow of water to the Minnesota River (April 2019)

• Climate Action Report Card – see Governor Walz’s progress on environmental initiatives

  • August 18: LWVMN signed onto the PolyMet campaign along with the MN Environmental Partnership

• We need to act now to save river with water storage bill – LTE by Darby and Geri Nelson (Mankato Free Press)

Events

Recordings can be found on the Past Event Highlights page.

Further Reading