US cities taking the lead on combating climate change: Residents, officials coming together
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* Julia Haskins

Significant efforts to curb climate change in the U.S. may not be forthcoming at the federal level, if recent attacks on environmental science are any indication. But cities nationwide are stepping up to the challenge, combating climate change through concerted initiatives between residents and local governments.

![Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/47/3/1.3/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/47/3/1.3/F1)

Workers install solar panels in May 2016 in Washington, D.C. The city is one of many across the country that is taking action to combat climate change. The district’s climate action plan calls for improving energy efficiency of district buildings, supporting clean energy and expanding sustainable transportation.

Photo by Alex Wong, courtesy Getty Images

“Cities are really where the leadership is on climate change,” Michele Crim, climate action programs and policy manager for the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, told *The Nation’s Health.* “Shifts at the federal level don’t really change that. If anything, it makes the work at the local level that much more important.”

Local action on climate change is top of mind for many city officials. To date, more than 1,000 mayors have pledged to uphold the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, which urges cities to reduce their carbon emissions below 1990 levels. In March, the mayors of Oakland, California; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; and Seattle, alongside the governors of Oregon and Washington, signed a joint statement to oppose a move by President Donald Trump against federal vehicle fuel emissions standards. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy has mobilized dozens of cities in the U.S. alone to find solutions.

From coast to coast, hundreds of cities are taking action on climate change. Washington, D.C., is focusing on green buildings and improved transportation as it seeks to cut down on emissions. San Francisco in March released an updated Climate Action Strategy, highlighting the steps it will take to achieve goals such as reaching zero waste by 2020 and having all residential electricity come from renewable sources.

With more than 60 percent of the U.S. population residing in cities, according to the latest census data, there is both urgency and obligation among city dwellers to respond to climate change. One reason for the support among cities could be that residents are not debating the reality of climate change as much as how to address it, according to Elizabeth Babcock, manager of air, water and climate at the Department of Environmental Health — City and County of Denver.

“At the local level, you see less division around the issue of climate change,” Babcock told *The Nation’s Health.* “In cities, resisting climate change is “less of a political question and more of a practical question.”

Denver has long been a leader in environmental stewardship, and continues to innovate. The Denver 2020 Climate Goal seeks to lower greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels. Going a step further, by 2050, the city aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from a 2005 baseline. The city has made a significant dent in greenhouse gas emissions by targeting the building energy sector, with initiatives such as community programs aimed at residential and business energy use.

While alarming for all facets of public health, the threat of climate change has not been a top priority at the highest levels of U.S. government recently. Under Trump’s budget proposal released in March, increased funding for defense would be offset by major cuts to federal agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The plan calls for reducing funding by 31 percent, from $8.2 billion to $2.6 billion, which would also result in about 3,200 fewer staff. More than 50 EPA programs are also on the chopping block. In addition, the budget proposal eliminates the Global Climate Change Initiative, a program implemented by President Barack Obama in 2010 to provide foreign assistance for climate change work. Hindering climate initiatives could lead to less oversight and relaxed emissions standards at a time when climate change threatens communities across the country.

With the effects of climate change already affecting communities and their health, coupled with possible roadblocks by the federal government, cities cannot afford to become complacent, leaders say.

“We have actually stepped up our messaging about climate change. There’s been a lot of discussion about less information coming out of the EPA,” Meghan Hughes, MS, environmental health communications director at the Department of Environmental Health — City and County of Denver, told *The Nation’s Health.* “We’ve made sure that we’re communicating this much more often than we were previously, broadening our message around the links between climate change and health.”

Austin, Texas, is another city with a history of environmental activism, which Zach Baumer, MBA, climate program manager for the City of Austin, credits with a city council whose environmental stewardship dates back to the 1990s. Since then, the city has adopted a range of environmentally conscious measures, such as the Austin Climate Protection Plan, first launched in 2007. The initiative required all city departments to develop action plans in line with climate-related goals. Now Austin is on its way to going carbon neutral in several years through Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2020.

With so much progress made toward curbing climate change already, Austin does not plan on overhauling its strategy in response to any possible stalled federal action, Baumer said. He noted that Austin has already exceeded the goals of the Clean Power Plan, an initiative implemented under the Obama administration to limit carbon emissions from power plants. And because Austin’s power and utilities are publicly owned through Austin Energy, the city would be less vulnerable to the effects of eliminating the Clean Power Plan under the proposed federal budget, he said.

“We’re really focused on climate resilience and adaptation,” Baumer told *The Nation’s Health.* “We really have to also be planning our infrastructure and planning our city and spending the money that we have wisely for the long term.”

Taking a proactive approach to issues such as climate change is at the heart of 100 Resilient Cities, an initiative through the Rockefeller Foundation designed to provide cities with resources to address shocks, such as fires or floods. It also helps cities prepare for systemic stresses that challenge everyday life, such as high unemployment rates. The program works with cities around the world and includes Atlanta, Boston and Honolulu.

“When you’re trying to make a city more resilient, it can’t be looked at in isolation,” Otis Rolley, MCP, regional director of city and practice management for Africa and North America at 100 Resilient Cities, told *The Nation’s Health.*

![Figure2](http://www.thenationshealth.org/http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/47/3/1.3/F2.medium.gif)

[Figure2](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/47/3/1.3/F2)

Walkers, cyclists and drivers share Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, Oregon. The city’s Climate Action Plan supports active transportation and other environmentally friendly practices.

Photo by Kevin Russ, courtesy iStockphoto

He emphasized that resiliency must be viewed in terms of three global trends central to the mission of 100 Resilient Cities: urbanization, globalization and climate change. If a city can adapt to the first two components, it can better handle climate change. So while a federal budget proposal that slashes environmental protections does complicate matters, cities with a holistic approach to shocks and stresses can better handle shifts within the federal government.

“We don’t actually need to change. If anything, we just need to redouble our efforts to equip our member cities to be that much more resilient,” Rolley said.

The good news is that many mayors are already taking the necessary steps to become more resilient to shocks and stresses, making it easier to weather federal actions on the environment, according to Andrew Brenner, MPA, senior manager for global communications at 100 Resilient Cities.

“We’re seeing mayors are exerting more influence and more power, and it’s sort of de-emphasizing what’s happening on a federal level,” he told *The Nation’s Health.*

As the first U.S. city to adopt a climate action strategy, Portland, Oregon, remains steadfast in its commitment to environmental protection.

“We have a lot of experience under our belt,” said Crim, of the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

The Portland Climate Action Plan, for example, features environmentally conscious practices already embedded in city culture, such as moving toward public and active transportation.

Portland is working to reduce the collective carbon footprint. According to Crim, emissions are down 21 percent in Portland compared with 1990 levels, even with a 33 percent growth in the population and 24 percent job growth. The rate of growth is not projected to slow down, with 125,000 more households expected by 2035. With a population boom, there is increased pressure to ramp up climate change initiatives, Crim said.

“That rapid growth is a new dynamic that we have to contend with,” she said. “That makes it that much more important to continue to be really aggressive about our climate work.”

As cities throughout the U.S. have demonstrated, resistance to climate change remains critical, regardless of federal action.

“Elected officials are paying attention,” said Hughes, of the Denver Department of Environmental Health. “Especially on the local government level, you know your city councilperson or you’re definitely going to get a reply from your city councilperson. People should not really underestimate the impact that they can have at the local level.”

For more on 100 Resilient Cities, visit [www.100resilientcities.org](http://www.100resilientcities.org).

*APHA has named 2017 the Year of Climate Change and Health. To learn more, visit [www.apha.org/climate](http://www.apha.org/climate)*

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association