Horowitz: In Trump Era, It will be Up to Cities & States to Lead Way on Climate Change
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
President-elect Trump’s selection of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a climate change denier, to head the EPA is a wake-up call for those who were holding out hope that Mr. Trump’s skepticism that climate change was a real problem and his cavalier dismissals of the need for action in this area during the campaign was just rhetoric. If there was ever any real belief that Donald Trump was a secret tree-hugger or that his daughter Ivanka’s professed interest in climate change was going to drive policy, those slender reeds of hope should now be extinguished.
While it is still a distinct possibility that because the costs so far outweigh the benefits in terms of diplomacy and world standing, the President-elect will decide not to withdraw from the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, progress on meeting the domestic goals the United States committed to as part of that agreement will of necessity be placed nearly exclusively on the cities and states for the duration of the Trump Presidency.
Fortunately, American cities and states are well-positioned to meet the challenge. Nearly 1,100 Mayors representing nearly 1/3 of the United States population and a majority of the generation of greenhouse gasses have signed on to the US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, pledging significant reductions in emission that generate climate change in their cities. More importantly, cities including New York, Chicago, and even Houston, are backing up their pledges with decisive actions, including implementing major energy efficiencies and upgrading public transit, that are achieving major reductions in carbon emissions.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSimilarly, states are making major commitments and moving forward with implementing aggressive action plans. For example, California, which accounts for 13% of the United State’s economic output, is now committed to reducing its carbon emissions to 40% below its 1990 level by 2030 Similarly, Republican Governor Charlie Baker has ordered the re-doubling of efforts so that Massachusetts can meet its goal of a 25% reduction in its 1990 level of greenhouse gas production by 2020.
In meeting these ambitious goals, states and cities are being boosted by the rapidly declining cost of renewable energy and by the wide dispersion of the skill and technology needed to make buildings much more energy efficient. While it is the case that some of this is a result of federal incentives put in place by the Obama Administration, even if these incentives are rolled back, the momentum unleashed is already close to unstoppable.
As former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg wrote in a recent opinion piece, “I am confident that no matter what happens in Washington, no matter what regulations the next administration adopts or rescinds, no matter what laws the next Congress may pass, we will meet the pledges that the U.S. made in Paris
In the era of Trump, nearly the entire climate change challenge will fall on cities and states. It is good news that they are ready and willing to meet this challenge and continue the progress here that is so critical to fueling the global progress required to limit temperature increases and avoid the worst consequences to humanity and our planet.
Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, elected official and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.
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