Local Climate Action

The 2015 Paris Agreement (or Paris Accords) is an international treaty signed by 196 parties, including the United States. The parties committed to the shared goal of keeping the increase in global surface temperature below 2°C by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking other effective actions. Each time Donald Trump has become president, he has withdrawn the United States from the agreement, and work on climate has stalled at the federal level. Still, there is so much momentum and public agreement on the need for emissions reduction that progress will continue in many state and local governments. Three new Actions in our Toolbox describe policies that can be introduced at a local or regional level.

• State and local GHG emission reduction programs
  As of February 2025, 22 states and two territories had established binding emission reduction targets, along with many cities and counties. Find out whether your state has a climate plan — if not, work on getting emission reduction goals and programs passed by your city or county. Energy-saving measures like replacing street light bulbs with LEDs are bipartisan and save money as well as energy.
• LEED certification added to zoning requirements
  High-efficiency LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building standards are often used for development projects, saving water and energy and reducing pollution from and inside buildings. LEED standards can also be folded into zoning ordinances for cities so that they are automatically used for all new development. Even if funding for Biden-era programs to retrofit old buildings dries up, new buildings constructed to LEED standards will have lower emissions from the start. Cities in Florida, Washington, California and New Mexico have taken this step.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws to reduce waste and GHG emissions
  Getting product manufacturers to reduce packaging and make it truly recyclable or compostable will eventually need international regulations and standards. Pressure can be applied from below, however, by making it less acceptable to use wasteful, fossil-fuel-based packaging and separating it from the waste stream that goes to landfills. Lists of state EPR laws can be found on this map by the Product Stewardship Institute. Cities can share and discuss ideas within the U.S Conference of Mayors and can engage their residents in the problem by offering recycling programs and education.