Here & Now

Climate Change Task Force Releases Report

Frederica Freyberg:

Now back to Wisconsin political news and a rare bipartisan agreement. This week, disparate groups making up 32 members of the governor’s task force on climate change signed off on its 55 climate solutions and released its report. Those solutions include to encourage utilities to eliminate carbon emissions, support public transit and electric vehicles, create clean energy and conservation jobs and create an Office of Environmental Justice. Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes is chair of the task force. He says the work ahead is not just about climate, but economic growth and recovery with a keen eye on climate justice and equity. He joins us now and thanks very much for being here.

Mandela Barnes:

Thank you so much for having me. Really excited to talk about this.

Frederica Freyberg:

Good. So what is climate justice and equity?

Mandela Barnes:

Climate justice and equity means that everybody should have a fair shot when it comes to their living circumstances as it relates to the environment. We see too many communities that face environmental hazards, whether it’s water pollution and contamination or air quality hazards. And we need to make sure that the people that contribute to those adverse set of circumstances or sets of circumstances are, one, held accountable, but also making sure that quality of life is something that people should come to expect no matter where you live in Wisconsin. So this is a monumental step forward for our state.

Frederica Freyberg:

How do task force solutions bring justice and equity to the work of climate change?

Mandela Barnes:

Oh, easily. In many ways. You look at where we are right now you can look at the climate but also where we are with COVID-19 and the adverse impact it’s having on people’s health and also Wisconsin’s economic condition. Not much different than many other states in the country. And we need a real plan for recovery to push us forward. And that means advancing our opportunities when it comes to green energy jobs. Jobs in the renewable energy sector have been outpacing the rest of the economy for years now. It’s time for Wisconsin to be a part of that growth. But it’s also important to make sure that communities that have been the most impacted, whether it’s by climate change or whether it is devastating economic circumstances, have a shot at those types of jobs and that type of employment. And also our agriculture community, our rural communities, who often get blamed for contributions to climate change, but the reality is they experience the impacts of climate change more than many other communities given historic levels of rainfall, given historic levels of flooding. That impacts crop production and also impacts economies across our state. What we have is a plan to involve them in the process of combating climate change but also providing economic opportunity. I think that’s the definition of climate justice.

Frederica Freyberg:

So describe the breadth of the members on this task force.

Mandela Barnes:

That’s got to be the most exciting part about it. We have people from all across the state, different regions, different walks of life, different professions, different disciplines. We have large businesses, small businesses, youth participation. It was bipartisan participation with four different legislators who are members of the task force. We also had utilities and we had farmers to come together to come up solutions. And also climate activists and advocacy organizations. We’re talking about people who find themselves often talking about each other, talking around each other or talking over each other. But this task force gave space, providing an opportunity for them to talk to each other and discuss ways that we could all move forward.

Frederica Freyberg:

There have been many task force reports over the years. What is your expectation that this one will be acted on?

Mandela Barnes:

I think people understand the urgency here and I think that we live with, again, environmental justice at the forefront. When people think about social justice, they have a certain idea. But environmental justice is a social justice issue, but it means that if you are in a community and you are — you have your wells that have PFAS contamination or nitrate contamination or you’re dealing with lead laterals in your community or you’re in an area that has been dealt with having to experience the toxins of coal-burning power plants. These are all issues of environmental justice that we live with. We live with quality of life, making sure we talk about the economic opportunity that comes with us acting on this issue. I’m not sure if that has always been the case before, but the case could not be made more clear this time, when people all across the state, people all across this country are in need of something new, something better and an opportunity to help them live happier, healthier, safer and more productive lives.

Frederica Freyberg:

Very briefly, what is the next step?

Mandela Barnes:

The next step, a number of recommendations. We look to put forth in the budget a number of recommendations. We’ll also have a chance to be explored whether through some sort of executive action and the legislature will be presented with a number of these solutions as well. So we hope that people will act on it and we just want the public to have a chance to sit and digest this document as well so they can see what a cleaner future looks like for the state of Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes.

Mandela Barnes:

Thank you so much for having me.