World Resources Institute: Trump May Thwart Federal Climate Action, but Opportunities for Progress Remain

Some states are poised for even greater action before Trump takes office. In California, voters overwhelming approved  Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond measure that will help the state prepare for the impacts of climate change. Just after the election, California’s Governor Newsom announced a special session  of the state legislature to take steps “to safeguard California values”— including the fight against climate change — ahead Trump’s second term. A day later, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved  updates to the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), designed to accelerate the development of cleaner fuels and zero-emission infrastructure to help the state meet legislatively mandated air quality and climate targets.

At the same time, voters in Washington state upheld  a new law that forces companies to cut carbon emissions while raising billions to support programs such as habitat restoration and climate preparation. Maryland’s Governor Moore issued a wide-ranging executive order  earlier this year directing state agencies to develop climate implementation plans to ensure the state could continue working towards its ambitious climate change targets , which aim for net-zero carbon by 2045.

In parallel, cities have long played a crucial role in advancing climate policies and will continue to do so. Climate Mayors , which started as a network of 30 mayors in 2017, is now a bipartisan network of nearly 350 U.S. mayors driving climate action in their communities. These cities continue investing in public transportation, green infrastructure and local emissions-reduction initiatives — all of which will continue to mitigate the impacts of climate change and build more sustainable urban environments with or without federal action on climate.