The Climate Plans That Aren't Helping Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

It was 2005 when cities really started taking the lead in the government-level fight against climate change. Seattle's then-Mayor Greg Nickels made a pledge that even if the United States wouldn't comply with the greenhouse gas reductions called for by the Kyoto Protocol, at least his city could. He then challenged other cities to do the same. Within a few months, Nickels had another 140 mayors on his side. And ever since he formally created the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the leaders of more than 1,000 U.S. cities have pledged to take similar efforts to quell greenhouse gas emissions.

It would be hard to argue that these signatures don't carry weight, but signing an agreement is much different from actually enacting the regulations and policies to actively reduce a city's emissions. Often the next step is the adoption of a formal city climate plan. More than 600 cities are developing or have already enacted such plans, which would seemingly translate into real, tangible reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at the city level.