After the Cop26 conference ended in Glasgow, many activists and climate scientists felt the deal did not go far enough and that the US government was among those who failed to support strong words with enough action. real.

But action at a smaller level in the United States – in cities and states – is gaining ground and starting to make a significant difference. Smaller-scale initiatives to reduce emissions have been the important means by which America has made climate progress in recent years, in the absence of stronger federal leadership.

Brookings Institution researchers calculated that in 2018, these climate action plans generated 6% emissions savings for the country, the equivalent of taking 79 million cars off the road this year. -the.

“These are significant benefits,” says Mark Muro, senior researcher and policy director at Brookings Metro. “None of this is important enough, but it adds up to a significant trend of reducing emissions. These are real contributions.

Even in the climate meeting, there was increased appreciation for cities‘ climate action plans – Cop26 featured a full day focusing on what regions and cities can do, Muro stresses. In the United States, 45 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas have pledged to reduce their carbon emissions. “There is no doubt that cities are critical places where emissions can be reduced and better solutions developed. “

Cities are at the forefront of action plans, but also of the direct effects of the climate crisis, including power cuts, fires and floods. This makes them more likely to take quick action. People who move due to climate change will also move primarily to cities, placing added importance on their ability to plan for the future. Joe Biden’s new infrastructure bill will inject tens of billions of dollars into funding for climate-related projects.

For example, San Diego recently created a plan to become more climate resilient – a plan that prioritizes the needs of the most climate vulnerable. It would plant more trees, expand parks in low-income areas, and modernize public transportation.

“As our country has seen in recent months, extreme weather conditions brought on by climate change can have devastating effects,” Todd Gloria, Mayor of San Diego, wrote in the plan. “While these threats are not new to San Diego, science tells us that climate change is making these events more frequent and intense. The cost of inaction would be much higher than investing in our future.

In Austin, Texas, the city managed to reduce its building emissions by 20% despite a booming population, but saw an increase in transportation emissions between 2010 and 2018. The city hopes to electrify its municipal fleet of vehicles. in the near future.

Pittsburgh this week finalized a plan to increase energy efficiency across the city and cut emissions by 50% by 2030, pushed forward by the Glasgow conference, which the mayor attended.

Ambitious climate action plans are crucial roadmaps, but they can be based on wrong assumptions. Muro’s research shows that such plans have been mixed in terms of reducing emissions. “They make big promises that aren’t necessarily backed by hard delivery work,” he says. “It’s a good time to refocus and really think about how to improve them. “

On the one hand, more cities need plans: In 2018, Muro and his colleagues reported that only 45 of the 100 largest cities in the United States had such plans. Small subways often don’t have a plan in place. Some areas of the redder states may struggle to implement climate strategies – although Muro says when they present climate strategies as part of a good data-driven government effort, it’s less burdened. policy.

In addition, the quality of the commitments is questionable – they can sometimes be unachievable if they do not have control of a power plant that produces emissions in their area, or if they are unable to implement the rules they are proposing because of other laws. . In addition, with the exception of cities in California, the efforts of city action plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are mostly non-binding.

Cities and states can learn from each other, rather than reinventing the wheel every time. Groups like C40 Cities – a global network of mayors taking action on the climate crisis – can facilitate data and strategy sharing. Pooling data can also reduce the cost of accountability.

Coming out of Cop26, there is a recognition of the extreme urgency of the moment and of the importance of cities as a source of progress, says Muro. “Cities must now combine their big aspirations with more serious implementation. “