Over the past three decades, more than 600 local governments across the United States adopted their own climate action plans setting greenhouse gas reduction targets. But experts now say that many of those cities’ individual plans were aspirational at best. Now they must work harder if they’re going to curb the warming trend. The USA TODAY Network’s findings are consistent with a study last year by the nonprofit Brookings Institution. It found just 45 of the 100 largest U.S. cities had adopted a serious climate pledge, and two-thirds of those with plans have fallen short of their targets. More than a dozen appeared to have no emissions tracking at all.
Dinah Voyles Pulver, Sarah Bowman, Beth Harvilla and Janet Wilson. USA TODAY. August 12, 2021.
