Senate-passed climate bills will improve lives statewide

Climate progress took a major step forward Thursday afternoon.

The Michigan Senate voted Senate bills 271, 273 and 502 out of its chamber in a 20-18 vote. The Clean Energy Future legislation would require utility companies to produce 100% clean energy by 2040, increase utility energy efficiency, and require the state's utility regulator to emphasize climate, affordability, and equity in its decisions.

“Michigan’s Clean Energy Future legislation isn’t just a vision or a promise. It's an action, and it will be felt across the state," said Charlotte Jameson, chief policy officer for the Michigan Environmental Council. "Dangerous, unreliable coal plants will be replaced with energy that is clean, dependable, and affordable. The pollution that has kept kids sick from school and grandparents at the ER will clear. The severe weather that floods our basements, knocks our power out and kills off our forests will be less intense with Michigan's help. People and places will be saved; many others will live better."

The Senate bills will now head to a committee in the Michigan House of Representatives. The Environmental Council, its member organizations, and people across the state will continue their intense advocacy.

“Now, our representatives must not only pass climate legislation but improve it," Jameson said. "The dirty pollution from incinerators and factory farms should not be considered clean and renewable like they are now—the people living near these places certainly don’t. The time to act is now. We must get this right.”

Many of the components of the Clean Energy Future legislation were key climate priorities outlined in the Environmental Council’s 2023-24 goals.