Climate change is adversely impacting agriculture around the world. Changes in climate, including more frequent extreme weather events, are expected to continue or intensify in the future having direct and indirect effects on farm production and profitability. These negative impacts also threaten Minnesota’s infrastructure and economic health.
In 2019, Governor Tim Walz signed the Climate Change Executive Order (19-37), identifying the increasing threat and need to address the severe economic, health, and ecological impacts of climate change. The Climate Change Executive Order charges state agencies, including the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, to work together to track the effects of climate change, drive innovative policy solutions to mitigate the threat, and help better prepare Minnesotans to adapt to its adverse impacts.
The Governor’s Climate Change Subcabinet, comprised of state agency and department leadership, along with the Governor's Advisory Council on Climate Change, a citizen board appointed to advise the Subcabinet, are working together to identify policies and strategies that will help us get back on track to meet Minnesota’s Next Generation Energy Goal.
