Gov. Whitmer announces big action on climate change

Today Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced plans for Michigan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

Nathan Murphy

Today, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced her signing of an Executive Order and an Executive Directive that make huge strides in putting Michigan on a path for leadership doing something about climate change. The topline is committing Michigan to carbon neutrality by 2050. Scientists tell us this is what we need to keep the worst effects of global warming at bay.

The western states are on fire, and our gulf coast has been hit with a jaw-dropping number of named storms this year. They’ve already run through the entire alphabet for storm names this year. In Michigan we witnessed record flooding this spring, record high lake levels causing dangerous erosion, and dry spells and heat waves all linked to climate change. It’s clear we need decisive, ambitious action. 

A big thank you, to Gov. Whitmer for her actions today. We still have the roll-up-the-sleeves work to do. We plan on weighing in as the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy draws up the path forward, and continue to push implementation of the plan as Michigan moves forward. Gov. Whitmer started to chart a path to a cleaner, healthier future that protects our liveable climate, and Environment Michigan will be working hard to help us get there.

Authors

Nathan Murphy