Minnesota Climate Strategies and Economic Opportunities (CSEO) Project
On December 12, 2006, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced the state’s “Next Generation Energy Initiative,” including “development of a comprehensive plan to reduce Minnesota’s emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).” In this announcement, the Governor requested assistance from the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) in the development of a Minnesota Climate Mitigation Action Plan (Action Plan) and formation of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG). This broad-based group of Minnesota citizens and leaders was charged with developing a comprehensive set of state-level policy recommendations to the Governor through a stakeholder-based consensus building process facilitated by CCS in coordination with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (PCA).
Under Governor Dayton’s leadership, in February 2014, CCS entered a partnership based Memorandum of Understanding with Minnesota DOC and PCA to update and enhance recommendations and assessments in the 2008 state climate plan through the Climate Strategies and Economic Opportunities (CSEO) Project, designed to address the state's economic, energy, and environmental needs. In addition to formulating comprehensive, multi-objective recommendations in all economic sectors, the CSEO Project includes an evaluation of the interface of CSEO sector based recommendations with local, state, and federal goals, including anticipated Clean Air Act Section 111(d) Clean Power Plan goals for Minnesota, and statewide GHG emissions reductions targets established in 2008 by the Minnesota Legislature.
A 15 member CCS team worked closely for two years with over 60 state agency representatives across 13 agencies to develop new and enhanced policies and impact assessments. Recommended actions in the CSEO report show a high level of potential in all sectors to deliver direct and indirect benefits at competitive cost.