Minnesota

Thanks to a $200 million investment made possible through the IRA, Minnesota farmers will be part of a nationwide effort to cut up to 971 million metric tons of greenhouse gases by 2050.

Minnesota will be one of 25 participants in the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants. The funding will help farmers and other Minnesota residents electrify the vehicles and equipment used to grow and transport food and scale up successful food waste prevention programs. In addition, the program will expand climate-smart farming practices through the state’s Agricultural Water Quality Certification and Soil Health Financial Assistance programs. 

The state will also protect and restore roughly 10,000 acres of peatlands throughout the state. According to the journal Nature, peatlands “are recognized as efficient nature-based climate solutions,” adding that, “taking action to monitor, assess, and restore peatland ecosystems is a point of urgency to meet global climate mitigation targets.”

U.S. EPA Region 5 Administrator Debrah Shore praised Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “for his leadership and innovative plans to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions by decarbonizing the state’s food system across agricultural, industrial and waste sectors, to building a greener, cleaner, healthier future for all Minnesotans.”