WISCONSIN (April 20, 2022) – Yesterday, Governor Tony Evers and the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy released Wisconsin’s first-ever Clean Energy Plan, which outlines the state’s plan to transition to renewable energy to achieve 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050. Adam Forrer, Policy Director of Climate for Audubon Great Lakes released the following statement in response to the plan, and is available for public comment. 

“Scientific studies show that climate change is the biggest threat to birds. Because birds live everywhere, we know that what affects them will affect us. We all depend on healthy natural spaces and clean air and water to live healthy and productive lives.

Each spring and summer the Ovenbird can be found strutting on the floors and tree branches of Wisconsin’s forests, singing it’s distinctive ‘teacher, teacher’ song. If we don’t take action to address climate change, the Ovenbird will likely go silent across the state as it’s forced to move north to find suitable climate conditions.

Governor Evers Clean Energy Plan puts Wisconsin on a path to achieve 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050, and invests in renewable energy jobs to protect birds and people from the devastating impacts of climate change.   

Investing in renewable energy sources, which are needed to reduce pollution and lower global temperatures, also makes economic sense. Wisconsin’s renewable energy sector currently supports more than is 76,000 jobs. The Clean Energy Plan scales-up Wisconsin’s clean energy workforce and reduces our dependence on out-of-state fossil fuel that adds up to billions of dollars every year. This investment could result in an additional $21B in economic activity.

Audubon Great Lakes thanks Governor Evers for releasing this comprehensive Clean Energy Plan, an important step towards addressing our climate crisis. We look forward to supporting the advancement of responsibly sited renewable energy in the state for the benefit of birds and people.”

About Audubon Great Lakes

Audubon Great Lakes is a regional office of National Audubon Society. Learn more on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive.

TO REQUEST AN INTERVIEW: Emily Osborne, emily.osborne@audubon.org, 414-841-5273