Reducing our emissions and adapting to a changing climate

Two people installing solar panels on a flat roof.

The Met Council is committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and making our services and facilities resilient to the impacts of climate change.

We treat about 250 million gallons of wastewater every day, which consumes a lot of energy. As the state’s largest provider of transit services, we own one of the largest vehicle fleets in Minnesota. We operate facilities across the seven-county Twin Cities region.

Our five-year, internally focused Climate Action Work Plan builds on our strong track record of climate change planning and emissions mitigation. The plan unifies our efforts across Met Council divisions, commits our organization to new climate-related initiatives, incorporates environmental justice principles, and aligns with Minnesota’s Climate Action Framework.

Icon of a generic bar chart with blue lines and black lines.Tracking our progress

During the third year (2025) of our five-year plan, we made strong progress on our commitments related to regional climate policy leadership and workforce assessment. Of the 73 actions identified in the Climate Action Work Plan overall: 

  • 48 are either complete or on track 
  • 17 are on hold, largely due to staffing or funding gaps 
  • 7 have a start date of 2026 or later 

Highlights from 2025

Imagine 2050. We integrated climate mitigation and adaptation strategies into each policy area (housing, land use, parks, transportation, water resources) of the regional development guide.  

 

Reducing emissions from our operations ​

Optimizing building efficiency and operations. Metro Transit and Environmental Services are focused on improving building operation efficiency. We’ve made progress towards 95% LED conversions at Metro Transit facilities and are replacing building automation controls to reduce carbon emissions and energy bills. Environmental Services is replacing existing sludge pumps at their water recovery facilities. Existing pumps run at constant speed. Installing new pumps with variable speed motors should reduce power consumption.    

Improving digester gas use at Blue Lake. The Blue Lake Water Resource Recovery Facility uses digester gas to offset the purchase of natural gas. We installed a new regenerative thermal oxidizer unit and improved facility controls. This will result in $161,546 in energy cost savings per year and a reduction of 1.68 MT CO2e per year. We earned an energy rebate from CenterPoint for $152,000 in 2025. 

Driving regional emissions reductions  

Helping local governments reduce their emissions. Community Development staff have created technical assistance tools to advance climate mitigation and adaptation in the region through 2050 local comprehensive plans. These tools include the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Tool, the Climate Action Toolkit, the forthcoming Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, and engagement and technical assistance through the annual PlanIt conference and winter learning labs.

Advancing electric vehicle use. The Met Council’s EV City Support project is under way to deliver technical assistance to local governments on vehicle electrification. This assistance will include fleet opportunities, zoning and permitting best practices, and direct provision of public charging. Public engagement on this project will happen during summer 2026. 

Climate adaptation

Advancing resilient landscapes and improving facilities. Environmental Services is forecasting floods and surveying flood walls for flood protection at the Metro Plant and Hastings Water Resource Recovery Facility. In addition, ES is developing native landscape master plans for each water resource recovery facility. 

Expanding the regional tree canopy. By the end of 2026, Community Development will have distributed $5.9 million over two years to local governments to improve the regional tree canopy.  Priorities include removing and replacing diseased and dead ash trees and increasing tree canopy in areas with higher community vulnerability. 

Environmental justice

Developing the Environmental Justice Playbook. A cross-divisional team is developing a resource for staff, the EJ Playbook, with practical strategies to implement the Climate Action Work Plan’s actions and Imagine 2050’s EJ Framework in climate-related projects. The EJ Playbook will be ready for testing by September 2026, and staff will identify pilot projects to test implementation through 2027.   

Workforce development

Training and staffing up to meet our commitments. Met Council now has 55 employees who have completed the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure training. We are exploring how Envision fits into our work through projects like the new Crow River Water Resource Recovery Facility and the Franklin Avenue Light Rail Station redesign.   

Tracking emissions

Treating 250 millions of gallons of wastewater each day and providing nearly 52 million transit rides each year takes a lot of energy. 
 
In 2025, the Met Council emitted an estimated 452,000 metric tons of CO2e. That’s about the equivalent of the electricity used by 61,000 homes and the emissions from 105,000 gas-fueled cars for one year. 

The Met Council’s emissions increased slightly in 2025 from the previous year due to expanded transit service. Several actions in the climate plan – including establishing energy performance targets, continuing to optimize wastewater treatment processes, and evaluating new renewable energy opportunities – all aim to reduce purchased energy emissions. Metro Transit continues to implement its zero-emissions bus transition plan and improve its miles traveled per CO2e emitted, among other fuel-efficiency actions.