With a population of approximately 10 million, Michigan is the 10th most populous of the American states, the 11th most extensive by area, and the largest by area east of the Mississippi River. Surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes, it also has more freshwater coastline than any other state in the union. Like many centralized states, it has seen an increase in some of the more tangible effects of climate change such as increased heavy rainfall, an uptick in annual heat waves and a 63% decrease in winter ice coverage on the Great Lakes since 1970. With a large portion of Michigan residents concentrated in and around the Great Lakes region, communities are largely dependent on them for their basic needs. Rising temperatures and increased rainfall precipitation have created blooms in Lake Erie, for example, contaminating water supplies in multiple townships surrounding Monroe County and disturbing fish populations. According to the NOAA, temperatures in Michigan have risen 3 degrees (F) over the last century. Extreme heat in densely populated cities like Detroit can lead to dangerous conditions for residents. Summers in Detroit by 2100 could feel like summers in Dallas now.
As Michigan has been hailed as a “climate haven,” some calling it the “best place to live by 2050,” the state will need to plan for a potential influx of climate migrants. By 2100, Michigan could receive a minimum of tens of thousands of climate migrants specifically fleeing rising sea levels. The state is not immune, however, recently experiencing an uptick of extreme weather including tornadoes (33 alone in 2025) and severe flooding, which researchers have linked to climate change.
In 2024, natural gas accounted for the largest share of Michigan’s total electricity generation at 45%. The contribution of natural gas has quadrupled in the past decade, and an additional 1,000 megawatts of natural gas generating capacity is planned to come online by 2028. Nuclear power, which has declined as plants have been decommissioned, supplied 21% of total electricity in 2024. However, in August 2025 the Palisades nuclear power plant returned to operational status, the first time a nuclear power plant has returned from decommissioning. Coal accounted for the largest share of total electricity generation until 2020, but 2700 megawatts of coal-fired generating capacity have retired and no new ones are planned in the state. Coal has diminished to 21% of total electricity generated in 2024.
In 2024, renewables accounted for 12% of total electricity generation. The majority came from wind energy (8% total) which has been the largest renewable in the state for over a decade, making the state 12th in the nation for wind generation capacity and 14th for actual generation. 33 biomass power plants contributed 2% total electricity generation. Hydroelectric contributed 1% and solar contributed 2%. Michigan has four dozen conventional hydroelectric dams and one pumped-storage plant on Lake Michigan that is one of the ten largest pumped storage power plants in the world. Solar energy increased 46% in 2024, with eleven solar farms coming online in 2023 and five solar farms coming online in 2024.
Read about where the candidates in Michigan’s 2026 gubernatorial race stand on the state’s top environmental issues data centers, the dam failure crisis, clean energy transition, the Great Lakes, and land conservation. The frontrunner in the Republican primary has vowed to repeal the 2023 clean energy law, despite support for the law from 75% of Michigan voters.
Michigan is one of 24 states, plus Puerto Rico, committed to the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Michigan’s citizens and various organizations across the state are advancing environmental justice, including the Michigan Climate Action Network, which has worked to spread information regarding climate change, its effects on Michigan and what can be done to fight it. They have four major goals underlining their fight: carbon neutrality by 2050, electrifying public transportation, putting an end to the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline running through the Great Lakes, and fighting for cleaner energy policies.
A landmark decision on the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline came in July 2026, when the Michigan Supreme Court overturned a key permit needed by the company, ruling that the Michigan Public Service Commission had violated the Michigan Environmental Protection Act when it originally approved the tunnel permit in 2023. Earthjustice Senior Attorney Adam Ratchenski called the ruling “an inspiring victory for Tribes, environmental advocates, and everyday people who’ve joined hands in the fight to stop the dangerous Line 5 pipeline.” The decision will likely have impacts on future environmental decisions in the state, strengthening Michigan’s public trust doctrine and tribal treaty rights, and expanding the scope of harms considered in environmental reviews.
