Mitigation Calculations in 2021 showed that, for giving the world a 50% chance of avoiding a temperature rise of 2 degrees or more USA should increase its climate commitments by 38%. For a 95% chance it should increase the commitments by 125%. For giving a 50% chance of staying below 1.5 degrees USA should increase its commitments by 203%. In April, 2022, wind and solar energy sources provided more electricity than nuclear power plants, overtaking nuclear for the first time in U.S. history. Efforts to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by the United States include
energy policies which encourage efficiency through programs like
Energy Star,
Commercial Building Integration, and the
Industrial Technologies Program. In the absence of substantial federal action, state governments have adopted emissions-control laws such as the
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the Northeast and the
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 in California. In 2019 a new climate change bill was introduced in Minnesota. One of the targets, is making all the energy of the state carbon free, by 2030. Several pieces of legislation introduced in the 116th and 117th Congresses, including the
Climate Stewardship Act of 2019, the
Ocean Based Climate Solutions Act of 2020, the
Healthy Soil, Resilient Farmers Act of 2020, and the
Healthy Soils Healthy Climate Act of 2020, have sought to increase
carbon sequestration on private and public lands through financial incentivization. Several state governments, including
California,
Hawaii,
Maryland, and
New York, have passed versions of a
carbon farming tax credit, which seek to improve soil health and increase carbon sequestration by offering financial assistance and incentives for farmers who practice
regenerative agriculture, carbon farming, and other climate change mitigation practices. The California Healthy Soils Program is estimated to have resulted in 109,809 metric tons of CO2 being sequestered annually on average. A 2021 survey of 1,422 AEA members found that 88 percent of professional economists generally agreed with the same statement. In November 2023, the first commercial
direct air capture (DAC) plant in the U.S. began operation.
Carbon emissions trading schemes by state and regional programs In 2003,
New York State proposed and attained commitments from nine
Northeast states to form a cap-and-trade
carbon dioxide emissions program for power generators, called the
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This program launched on January 1, 2009, with the aim to reduce the carbon "budget" of each state's electricity generation sector to 10% below their 2009 allowances by 2018. Also in 2003, U.S. corporations were able to trade CO2 emission allowances on the
Chicago Climate Exchange under a voluntary scheme. In August 2007, the Exchange announced a mechanism to create
emission offsets for projects within the United States that cleanly destroy
ozone-depleting substances. In 2006, the
California Legislature passed the California Global Warming Solutions Act,
AB-32. Thus far, flexible mechanisms in the form of project based offsets have been suggested for three main project types. The project types include:
manure management, forestry, and destruction of ozone-depleted substances. However, a ruling from Judge Ernest H. Goldsmith of San Francisco's Superior Court stated that the rules governing California's cap-and-trade system were adopted without a proper analysis of alternative methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The tentative ruling, issued on January 24, 2011, argued that the
California Air Resources Board violated state environmental law by failing to consider such alternatives. If the decision is made final, the state would not be allowed to implement its proposed cap-and-trade system until the California Air Resources Board fully complies with the
California Environmental Quality Act. However, on June 24, 2011, the Superior Court's ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeals. By 2012, some of the emitters obtained allowances for free, which is for the electric utilities, industrial facilities and natural gas distributors, whereas some of the others have to go to the auction. The California cap-and-trade program came into effect in 2013. In 2014, the
Texas legislature approved a 10% reduction for the Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compound (HRVOC) emission limit. This was followed by a 5% reduction for each subsequent year until a total of 25% percent reduction was achieved in 2017. In July 2010, a meeting took place to further outline the cap-and-trade system. In November 2011, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington withdrew from the WCI. As of 2021, only the U.S. state of
California and the
Canadian province of
Quebec participate in the WCI. In 1997, the State of
Illinois adopted a trading program for
volatile organic compounds in most of the Chicago area, called the Emissions Reduction Market System. Beginning in 2000, over 100 major sources of pollution in eight Illinois counties began trading pollution credits.
Adaptation The state of
California enacted the first comprehensive state-level climate action plan with its 2009 "California Climate Adaptation Strategy." California's electrical grid has been impacted by the increased fire risks associated with climate change. In the 2019 "red flag" warning about the possibility of wildfires declared in some areas of California, the electricity company Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) was required to shut down power to prevent inflammation of trees that touch the electricity lines. Millions were impacted. Within the state of
Florida four counties (
Broward,
Miami-Dade,
Monroe,
Palm Beach) have created the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact in order to coordinate adaptation and mitigation strategies to cope with the impact of climate change on the region. The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts has issued grants to coastal cities and towns for adaptation activities such as fortification against flooding and preventing coastal erosion.
New York State is requiring climate change be taken into account in certain infrastructure permitting, zoning, and open space programs; and is mapping sea level rise along its coast. After
Hurricane Sandy, New York and New Jersey accelerated voluntary government buy-back of homes in flood-prone areas. New York City announced in 2013 it planned to spend between $10 and $20 billion on local flood protection, reduction of the heat island effect with reflective and green roofs, flood-hardening of hospitals and public housing, resiliency in food supply, and beach enhancement; rezoned to allow private property owners to move critical features to upper stories; and required electrical utilities to harden infrastructure against flooding. In 2019, a $19.1 billion "disaster relief bill" was approved by the Senate. The bill should help the victims of extreme weather that was partly fueled by climate change. In mid February 2014, President
Barack Obama announced his plan to propose a $1 billion "
Climate Resilience Fund". Obama's fund incorporates facets of both urban resiliency and human resiliency theories, by necessarily improving communal infrastructure and by focusing on societal preparation to decrease the country's vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) A 2013 USDA Technical Report stated that Indigenous peoples'
traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has the potential to play a vital role in indigenous climate change assessment and adaptation efforts, and that contributions from both Western science and TEK knowledge systems are imperative. Western climate science and TEK represent complementary and overlapping views of the causes and consequences of change. Specifically, TEK—described as the "accumulation of highly localized, experiential, place-based wisdom over a long period, most often passed down orally from generation to generation"—provides wisdom for community-level adaptation.) in relation to seasonal climatic changes.
Adaptive forestry practices Within the United States, federal agencies have developed two overlapping frameworks for guiding their own actions with regard to forest resources, as well as offering guidance for managers of other forest lands within the nation. The first framework is known as RRT (Resistance, Resilience, Transition), and it was developed by
U.S. Forest Service research scientists. The
National Park Service developed its RAD framework (Resist, Accept, Direct), with assistance from scientists within the
U.S. Geological Survey. Both frameworks attribute their origins to a 2007 paper titled "Climate Change and Forests of the Future: Managing in the Face of Uncertainty". The Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) project is a collaborative effort to establish a series of experimental silvicultural trials across a network of different forest ecosystem types throughout the United States and Canada. It includes staff from both Canadian and U.S. forestry agencies, state forestry agencies, academic institutions, and forestry interest groups.
Policies, legislation and legal actions Federal, state, and local governments have all debated climate change policies, but the resulting laws vary considerably. The U.S. Congress has not adopted a comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions reduction scheme, but long-standing environmental laws such as the
Clean Air Act have been used by the executive branch and litigants in lawsuits to implement regulations and voluntary agreements. The federal government has the exclusive power to regulate emissions from motor vehicles, but has granted the state of California a waiver to adopt more stringent regulations. Other states may choose to adopt either the federal or California rules. Individual states retain the power to regulate emissions from electrical generation and industrial sources, and some have done so. Building codes are controlled by state and local governments, and in some cases have been altered to require increased energy efficiency. Governments at all levels have the option of reducing emissions from their own operations such as through improvements to buildings, purchasing alternative fuel vehicles, and reducing waste; and some have done so. Political opponents to emissions regulations argue that such measures reduce economic activity in the fossil fuel industry (which is a substantial
extractive industry in the United States), and impose unwanted costs on drivers, electricity users, and building owners. Some also argue that stringent environmental regulations infringe on individual liberty, and that the environmental impact of economic activity should be driven by the informed choices of consumers. Regulatory proponents argue that the economy is not a zero-sum game, and that individual choices have proven insufficient to prevent damaging and costly levels of global warming. Some states have financed programs to boost employment in green energy industries, such as production of wind turbines. Areas heavily dependent on coal production have not taken such steps and are suffering economic recession due to both competition from now lower-priced natural gas and environmental rules that make generation of electricity from coal disadvantageous due to high emissions of CO2 and other pollutants compared to other fuels. In 2021 phase 4 of the
Keystone XL pipeline, considered a symbol of the battle over
climate change and fossil fuels, was cancelled, following strong objections from
environmentalists,
indigenous peoples,
The Democratic Party, and
the Joe Biden administration. The current
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate is
John Kerry. The
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is the largest investment in climate change mitigation in US history, with $369 billion allocated towards energy and climate initiatives.
State and regional policy Across the country, regional organizations,
states, and cities are achieving real emissions reductions and gaining valuable policy experience as they take action on climate change. According to the report of
America's Pledge, 65% of the American population, 51% of the GHG emissions and 68% of the GDP, are now part of different coalitions that support climate action and want to fulfill the commitments of the US in the Paris Agreement. The coalitions include
We Are Still In,
US Climate Alliance,
Climate Mayors and more. These actions include increasing
renewable energy generation, selling agricultural
carbon sequestration credits, and encouraging
efficient energy use. The
U.S. Climate Change Science Program is a joint program of over twenty U.S. cabinet departments and federal agencies, all working together to investigate climate change. In June 2008, a report issued by the program stated that weather would become more extreme, due to climate change. States and municipalities often function as "policy laboratories", developing initiatives that serve as models for federal action. This has been especially true with environmental regulation—most federal environmental laws have been based on state models. In addition, state actions can significantly affect emissions, because many individual states emit high levels of greenhouse gases. Texas, for example, emits more than France, while California's emissions exceed those of Brazil. State actions are also important because states have primary jurisdiction over many areas—such as electric generation, agriculture, and
land use—that are critical to
addressing climate change. Many states are participating in
regional climate change initiatives, such as the
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the northeastern United States, the
Western Governors' Association (WGA) Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative, and the Southwest Climate Change Initiative. Inside the ten northeastern states implementing the
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, carbon dioxide emissions per capita decreased by about 25% from 2000 and 2010, as the state economies continued to grow while enacting various energy efficiency programs. In May 2023, Republican lawmakers in Montana passed a law—possibly the nation's most aggressive anti-
climate action law—prohibiting state agencies from considering climate change impacts when considering permits for projects like coal mines and power plants.
Legal actions In April 2010, Virginia's Republican Attorney General
Ken Cuccinelli claimed that climate scientist
Michael E. Mann had possibly violated state fraud laws, and without providing evidence of wrongdoing, filed the
Attorney General of Virginia's climate science investigation. The case involved extensive demands for document production, and was seen as an assault on academic freedom.
Held v. Montana was the first
constitutional law climate lawsuit to go to
trial in the United States, on June 12, 2023. The case was filed in March 2020 by sixteen youth residents of
Montana, then aged 2 through 18, who argued that the state's support of the
fossil fuel industry had worsened the
effects of climate change on their lives, thus denying their
right to a "clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations":Art. IX, § 1 as required by the
Constitution of Montana. On August 14, 2023, the trial court judge ruled in the youth plaintiffs' favor, though the state indicated it would appeal the decision. Montana's Supreme Court heard oral arguments on July 10, 2024, its seven justices taking the case under
advisement. On December 18, 2024, the Montana Supreme Court upheld the county court ruling. In June 2023,
Multnomah County, Oregon filed a lawsuit against seven defendants, including Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron and the Western States Petroleum Association, for materially contributing to the
2021 heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, which is thought to have killed hundreds of people.
International cooperation briefs several European leaders during the
2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
John Kerry speaking at the
2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. announcing
U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in 2017. signing his first
executive order re-joining the Paris Agreement in 2021. The United States, although a
signatory to the 1997
Kyoto Protocol, under
President Clinton, neither
ratified nor withdrew from the protocol. In 1997, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously under the
Byrd–Hagel Resolution that it was not the sense of the senate that the United States should be a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, and in March 2001, the
Bush Administration announced that it would not implement the treaty, saying it would create economic setbacks in the U.S. and does not put enough pressure to limit emissions from developing nations. In February 2002, Bush announced his alternative to the Kyoto Protocol, by bringing forth a plan to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gasses by 18 percent over 10 years. The intensity of greenhouse gasses specifically is the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions and economic output, meaning that under this plan, emissions would still continue to grow, but at a slower pace. Bush stated that this plan would prevent the release of 500 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, which is about the equivalent of 70 million cars from the road. This target would achieve this goal by providing
tax credits to businesses that use renewable energy sources. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case
Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency that
EPA regulation of carbon dioxide is required under the
Clean Air Act. President Barack Obama proposed a
cap-and-trade program as part of the
2010 United States federal budget, but this was never adopted by Congress. President Obama committed in the December 2009
Copenhagen Climate Change Summit to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the range of 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, 42% below 2005 levels by 2030, and 83% below 2005 levels by 2050. Data from an April 2013 report by the
Energy Information Administration (EIA), showed a 12% reduction in the 2005 to 2012 period. Just over half of this decrease has been attributed to the recession, and the rest to a variety of factors such as replacing coal-based power generation with natural gas and increasing energy efficiency of American vehicles (according to a
Council of Economic Advisors analysis). In an address to the
U.S. Congress in June 2013, the President detailed a specific action plan to achieve the 17% carbon emissions cut from 2005 by 2020, including measures such as shifting from
coal-based power generation to solar and natural gas production. Some Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressed concern at the idea of imposing new fines and regulations on the coal industry while the U.S. still tries to recover from the
world economic recession, with
Speaker of the House John Boehner saying that the proposed rules "will put thousands and thousands of Americans out of work".
Christiana Figueres, executive director of the
UN's climate secretariat, praised the plan as providing a vital benchmark that people concerned with climate change can use as a paragon both at home and abroad. After not participating in previous climate international treaties, the United States signed the
Paris Agreement on April 22, 2016, during the
Obama administration. Though this agreement does not mandate a specific reduction for any given country, it sets global goals, asks countries to set their own goals, and mandates reporting. United States international leadership was considered crucial in the negotiation during the
2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference and successful adoption of the international treaty. The U.S. submitted its action plan in March 2015, ahead of the treaty signing. Reaffirming the November 2014 announcement it made with China, the United States declared it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 26–28% below 2005 levels by 2025. This is to be accomplished by several executive actions: •
Clean Power Plan - regulating sources of electricity (put on hold by the Supreme Court in February, 2016, pending the outcome of a lawsuit) • New emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, finalized by EPA in March, 2016 • Department of Energy efficiency standards for commercial buildings, appliances, and equipment • Various actions to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide, including regulation and voluntary efforts related to methane from landfills, agriculture, coal mines; and
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) reduction through domestic regulation and amendment of the
Montreal Protocol In June 2017, President
Donald Trump announced
United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, although the exit process specified by the treaty (which Trump said the U.S. would follow) will last until at least November 4, 2020. Trump states that dropping out the agreement will create more job opportunities in the United States, but it may actually have the opposite effect by stifling the renewable energy industries. At the same time, Trump administration shut down the United States Environmental Protection Agency's climate change web pages and removed mentions of the topic elsewhere on the site. In April 2018, the Trump administration cancelled NASA's Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) program, which helped with the monitoring of CO2 emissions and deforestation in the United States and in other countries. The Trump administration also moved to increase fossil fuel consumption and roll back environmental policies that are considered to be burdensome to businesses. For offsetting the dismantlement of the
Clean Power Plan approximately 10 billion trees would need to be planted. Activists try to plant this number of trees. In January 2020 Trump announced that the USA would join the
Trillion Tree Campaign. Climate activists critiqued the plan for ignoring the root causes of climate change. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman
Raul Grijalva critiqued the plan as "a feel-good participatory gesture" without a broader portfolio of environmental actions surrounding it. In 2019, Democrats proposed a plan for climate action in USA aiming to not sell greenhouse gas emitting cars by 2035, reach zero emissions from the energy sector by 2040 and reduce to zero all the greenhouse gas emission of the country by 2050. The plan includes some actions to improve
environmental justice. In 2016, 38% of adults in United States thought that stopping climate change are a top priority which rose to 52% in 2020. Many Republicans share this opinion. In November 2020 the
Federal Reserve asked to join the
Network for Greening the Financial System and included Climate Change in the list of risks to the economy. On November 2,
Wired published an article about Trump administration efforts to distort and suppress information about climate change by firing the acting chief scientist of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and distorting the use of climate models at the
United States Geological Survey. On his first day as president, January 20, 2021,
Joe Biden signed an
executive order pledging that the US would rejoin the Paris Agreement. The US rejoined the agreement on February 19, 2021. This means that countries responsible for two thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions have pledged to become carbon neutral; without the US, it had been half. ==Society and culture==