The 2024 Minnesota Legislature session is a wrap. So, what got done this year with climate progress in Minnesota?

Walker Orenstein is a reporter for the Star Tribune. He says the changes to the permitting process for clean energy projects passed by lawmakers is a major step forward.

Heating and cooling our homes and buildings in Minnesota contribute about 40 percent of our state’s greenhouse gas emissions. What opportunity exists to reduce our carbon footprint by updating our building codes?

MPR News correspondent Dan Kraker wrote about that recently and shared his key takeaways.

A scientist at the University of Minnesota may have found a better way to track the effects of climate change on Arctic and boreal regions like northern Minnesota where temperatures are rising at some of the fastest rates in the world.

Rui Cheng, a professor in the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering at the University of Minnesota, is behind the research on using leaf glow to monitor vegetation dynamics.

While not visible under natural light, leaf glow can be detected using remote sensing and can provide important information about the health of Arctic-boreal ecosystems.

Cheng shared more about the research on this week’s Climate Cast.