News release

February 11, 2026

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MPCA Communications, news.mpca@state.mn.us

Climate Action Framework update builds on past successes, calls for accelerating climate action

The 2026 Climate Action Framework prioritizes reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting Minnesotans

While Minnesota already experiences the impacts of a changing climate, we remain committed to reducing emissions, protecting Minnesotans’ health and livelihoods, and creating good-paying jobs that support a clean environment and stable climate, as set out in the 2026 Climate Action Framework, the update to Minnesota’s Climate Action Framework.

State leaders shared the 2026 Climate Action Framework today in an event at the North End Community Center in Saint Paul. The updated plan, an expansion of the original framework launched in 2022, was developed over the last year and a half with input from hundreds of Minnesotans, including businesses and local governments across the state, and outlines actions necessary to meet Minnesota’s climate goals. The original Climate Action Framework laid the foundation for more than 40 climate laws and programs and over $1 billion of state climate funding passed during the 2023 legislative session.

“We remain committed to ensuring Minnesota is a great place for clean investments that will protect all Minnesotans even as we have seen decreased commitment to climate leadership at the federal level,” said Katrina Kessler, P.E., commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. “We know how to do the work of protecting human health and the environment from the devastating impacts of climate change. We are doing this work. And we will continue to do this work.”

Analysis in the 2026 framework shows Minnesota must accelerate our work to reduce climate pollution, particularly in the face of federal reductions on climate action. If Minnesota only implements current state and federal policies, we will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by just 28% by 2030 and 39% by 2050. This is far short of our current climate goals: a 50% reduction by 2030 and 100% carbon neutrality by 2050.

Among the Climate Action Framework update’s near-term priorities to reduce climate pollution and prepare Minnesota for climate change:

• a continued push to implement 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040
• accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles and reducing transportation emissions
• lowering emissions from heating our buildings
• sustained funding for infrastructure updates and disaster response
• reducing agriculture emissions while restoring peatlands and sustainably managing forests
• strong financing strategies for the transition to clean energy The 2026 framework also includes over 400 specific actions Minnesota must take in the state’s seven goal areas for climate action:

1. clean transportation
2. climate-smart natural and working lands
3. resilient communities
4. clean energy
5. healthy lives and communities
6. clean economy
7. efficient and resilient building The framework is intended to help Minnesotans across the state who are feeling the effects of a warmer, wetter, and less predictable climate. Nearly nine in 10 Minnesota communities recently reported experiencing the impact of at least one weather trend caused by climate change. According to national studies, every dollar spent on climate resilience provides $8-10 in benefits, including reduced disaster response costs. Minnesota has distributed $95 million to more than 160 local governments over the past two years to prepare for the impacts of climate change.

Read the full 2026 Climate Action Framework and learn how you can get involved at mn.gov/framework.

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