Chapter 10 Time to Act

As we continue to tackle our environmental challenges, it’s clear that change won’t come from Washington alone. It will come from Americans across the country who take steps in their own homes and their own communities to make that change happen.

—U.S. president Barack Obama in the speech “A New Foundation for Energy and the Environment”

Communities around the world have set goals to be low-carbon and resilient by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapting to unavoidable climate impacts. The development and implementation of climate action policies and strategies represent a unique opportunity for communities not only to contribute to solving a global problem but to position themselves to thrive well into the future. Climate action planning should be seen as a chance for communities to control their own destinies in the face of shifting conditions and to act as leaders in the formation of effective, innovative climate policy.

The Case for Immediate Action

We humans have been contributing GHG emissions to the atmosphere for generations. Communities may ask, Why take action now? Why not wait until we know more? We offer three reasons for communities to take immediate action to reduce their GHG emissions and prepare for the local impacts of climate change.

The Longer We Wait, the Harder It Will Get

The accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere has only been recognized as tied to climate change in the last several decades, partly because the concentrations have reached levels where the outcomes are more directly observable. Just as it has taken many decades to create the problem, the solution will require prolonged effort. Climate action planning seeks to reduce emissions that are contributing to the problem and reduce vulnerability to those impacts that are unavoidable. The benefits from emissions reductions will not be felt for many decades. This alone should be motivation to act sooner rather than later; however, it can also be viewed as an excuse to delay action.

The need for local climate action is increasingly recognized by the global community. In 2018, the IPCC released a special report on the impacts of 1.5°C of global warming. It concluded that current commitments to GHG emissions reduction by the global community, as submitted under the Paris Agreement, would still lead to a global increase in GHG emissions by 2030 that would not limit global warming to 1.5°C. It stated that global CO₂ emissions must start to decline well before 2030—only 11 years away from the publication of this book. We are almost out of time.

The most recent rounds of negotiation at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have included calls for subnationals (meaning states, regions, and cities) to commit to action, most notably in the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action. As of 2019, nearly 10,000 cities and regions around the world had formally submitted their ambitions and commitments to GHG emissions reduction to the United Nations.1 In addition, organizations like ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability, C40 Cities, the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, and the Global Covenant of Mayors have emerged as leaders in the global climate action movement, catalyzing local climate action.

The longer a community waits to act, the more aggressive these actions will need to be to meet stated goals. Figure 10.1 shows that if we had been more aggressive in bending the global GHG emissions curve in the year 2000, the annual reduction rate needed to stay below 2°C would be 2%. Given that the GHG emissions curve shows no sign of bending down soon, we could be in a situation a decade from now where 9% or more annual reductions are required. The more dramatic the required future cuts, the more politically difficult, socially disruptive, and expensive they will likely be. It is also likely that they will be mandatory and carry more requirements for local governments. Communities that act now are best positioned to satisfy future requirements and maintain local control and flexibility.

In the case of adaptation, the motivation to take immediate action is much more urgent. Many communities face immediate climate change impacts that could have far-reaching consequences for a city’s infrastructure, economic base, and public safety. Scientists are now seeing the fingerprints of climate change on major disasters. The recent destructive fire seasons in California are associated with drought and modifications to the jet stream exacerbated by climate change. Hurricane Michael, which struck the Florida Panhandle, rapidly intensified in a warmer-than-average Gulf of Mexico, and the storm surge rode on top of decades of global-warming-driven sea-level rise. What should prompt immediate action is the fact that addressing some of these changes will take considerable time and investment. For example, if a city’s wastewater treatment facility is located near a shoreline, sea-level rise or flooding may place the physical structure at risk. If the facility is viewed as so vulnerable that it should be moved, a community would have to identify a new site, obtain funding, build the new facility, and reroute sewer infrastructure to reach the new facility. These steps will all take time and money. A community facing projected climate change impacts cannot afford to delay planning.

Communities Can Achieve Long-Term Success

Acting now to develop GHG emissions reduction and climate adaptation strategies allows communities to control their own destinies. Climate action planning has the power not only to reduce vulnerability to the hazards associated with climate change but to position a community to thrive economically, environmentally, and socially well into the future. The needs to reduce GHG emissions and adapt to unavoidable consequences are likely to be considerations in policy development for many decades. These goals are compatible with the many other goals of local governments, such as housing, environmental protection, and economic development. The development of comprehensive, integrated climate strategies presents an opportunity for communities to meet a range of local needs now and well into the future.

The emission of GHGs is a result of how our energy is produced and the efficiency with which it is used, the way people move around a community, the products purchased and the manner in which they were made, and the methods of solid waste disposal. These choices are influenced by local urban form, climate, culture, economic conditions, values, the local employment base, and a host of other characteristics. While the overarching goals of climate policy may be shared, the most effective and lasting climate planning strategies will acknowledge and build on this local context. Accounting for the environmental, economic, political, and social settings in the development of climate actions provides a great opportunity to incorporate strategies that not only meet the global needs of climate change but situate a community for long-term livability. For example, a shift in transportation mode share from single-occupancy vehicles to bus, bike, and pedestrian travel to reduce GHG emissions is also likely to improve public health due to increased physical activity and improved air quality. Improved energy efficiency in homes reduces the utility bills of residents. Strategies that seek to foster a green business community are likely not only to reduce the emissions associated with the commercial and industrial sector but also to create economic stimulus and foster job creation.

Sustained collaboration on climate action can foster community support and security. Community members experience the outcomes of actions, from safer streets to greater economic stability. Over time, these actions yield a slow shift in local culture and understanding. The implementation of climate planning strategies can yield an improved global condition as well as a community that is vital, livable for all residents, and economically resilient. Climate action planning becomes, simply, good community planning.

Communities Are Positioned to Innovate and Lead

The federal government has largely ignored its responsibility to formulate and pass climate change legislation. Even when countries or international organizations succeed, the policies represent a compromise. This is to be expected given the diversity of interests and issues at large spatial scales; actions taken at these scales are often broad in scope and less able to be experimental or innovative. Local communities are the entities best positioned to innovate in the realm of climate action planning.

A community that makes a long-term commitment to climate planning goals should treat strategy development as an adaptive process. Some strategies may not work, but others will prove effective. Each community represents a unique local setting from the biophysical to the sociopolitical. Strategy development built from a laundry list of actions used elsewhere will only be successful if adapted to the specific challenges and opportunities presented by any given community. Local governments have the opportunity to be incubators for new climate actions that can be tailored or adjusted to meet the needs of others.

Climate action planning is a new enough area of policy development that innovative ideas and approaches are critical to ensure widespread success. The long-term nature of climate planning efforts gives communities room to experiment. However, experimentation requires a firm commitment to monitoring. The feedback loop provided by monitoring GHG emissions and climate vulnerability allows for adjustments to be made and areas of success or failure to be identified.

Many areas of climate action planning rely on voluntary behavior, such as the choice to drive or walk or of housing type. Climate action strategies can render some behaviors inconvenient or expensive and others easier or more cost-effective, but these behaviors cannot be directly addressed through policy. Community culture and values change with time. Engaging in a climate action planning process represents a long-term commitment. As local culture changes, there are strategies that may have been ineffective in the past that prove effective in the present. The implementation of strategies and community acceptance or support of climate policy evolve together. Demonstrated or observed policy effectiveness can lead to shifts in community views.

The case study of Portland and Multnomah County in Oregon illustrates a slow evolution in transportation choices that occurred as the government focused on providing greater opportunity and convenience with an expansion of transit, bike infrastructure, and pedestrian safety. As residents began to use these services and opportunities, the societal view of them began to shift.

Over time, sustained implementation and monitoring of climate action planning strategies will likely begin to inform the policies that govern many areas of community operation. In the long term, climate planning goals should be integrated into all areas of government. Once such policies are normalized, the goals of minimizing GHG emissions and exposure to hazards associated with climate change will become standard considerations in all decision-making processes.

Who and for Whom?

Anyone who asks the question “Who should do climate action planning for our community?” should consider themselves a candidate for the answer. As shown in the case studies in chapter 9, climate action planning can be done in city hall, it can be done by nonprofits in the community, and it can be done by a dedicated and informed citizenry that comes together for this specific purpose. Those motivated to do climate action planning in their communities should immediately begin to make connections and develop partnerships, as described in chapter 2. Everyone should be represented in climate action planning; a community is only resilient when all its members are resilient. Any community can and should do climate action planning. Moreover, communities can even begin reducing emissions immediately while waiting for the climate action planning process to get started (see box 10.1).

Our goal with this book is to inspire, inform, and facilitate local action on the global climate crisis. This crisis will compromise the social, cultural, and economic integrity of many communities around the globe. If we as a global community are to achieve all our hopes and dreams for our children and grandchildren, then we must act now to create low-carbon, resilient communities.