Climate Communities - Local Leadership Profiles

More than any other sector, local governments have the ability to promote, encourage, require, and lead the effort to reduce GHG emissions.

Mayors from more than 1000 cities have signed the Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement pledging to take actions in their communities to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets for reductions in GHG emissions. More than 40 counties representing over 35 million people have joined Cool Counties and pledged to reduce GHG emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050.

Local governments in Florida are already feeling the impacts of climate change, with rising sea levels and increasingly intense storms posing a significant threat to communities reliant upon the state’s $57 billion tourism industry. In response, these localities are working to aggressively combat and mitigate climate change by drastically reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, pioneering innovative approaches to expanding renewable energy deployments, and developing regional climate change adaptation strategies. More
Communities across Michigan – from Detroit to Traverse City to Lansing – are building the economy of the future today by deploying electric vehicles, incentivizing green manufacturing, launching innovative programs to increase energy efficiency, and putting Michiganders back to work in clean energy jobs. More
Virginian cities and counties are helping make some of America’s most historic communities some of the country’s most sustainable communities by integrating transit investments with innovative transportation strategies, demonstrating green initiatives with market transformation potential, and integrating a sustainable framework into traditional municipal services. More