It’s heartening news that some large Montana communities are developing plans to tackle the climate crisis. Missoula, Helena, and Bozeman are drafting strategies to help them meet their laudable goals of limiting greenhouse gas emissions. These plans will become of the blueprint for emission reduction efforts over the next decade so it is important that they establish a clear and definable path to achieve the communities’ emission reduction goals.
MEIC and many other advocacy organizations are concerned that the City of Bozeman’s Climate Plan will fail as a result of its over-reliance on the goodwill of NorthWestern Energy. NorthWestern’s unwavering efforts to lock in decades of fossil fuel emissions and its hostility to any new clean energy investments raise serious concerns about the viability of Bozeman’s Plan, despite the best intentions of the community. While we strongly support the city’s efforts we must voice serious concerns regarding its overly optimistic and unsupported assumptions regarding NorthWestern’s commitment to reducing climate-changing emissions. The letter to Bozeman expressing our concerns can be found here.
