On climate, America is more than Washington


On climate, America is more than Washington

The writer is professor of political science and director of the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Trump administration has made its position on climate unmistakable: it has withdrawn (again) from the Paris agreement, slashed support for global climate initiatives and has sought to dismantle climate-related infrastructure, including climate satellites and organisations such as the Environmental Protection Agency. Federal leadership is not simply absent. It is obstructive.

Based on this state of affairs, one could easily conclude that the US is fully out when it comes to the effort to arrest the climate emergency, and that America's absence depresses global collective action. But the US is more than Washington, and its response to climate change is being led by its states, cities, corporations and civil society.

New York Climate Week 2025 promises to showcase this resolve. With a focus on multilateralism and a special concern for less developed countries, the meetings taking place now represent the antithesis of the current US administration's climate policy. Even companies outside the energy and tech sectors are participating, as well as a wide range of non-governmental organisations. In the moment we find ourselves in, these groups may be seen as brave in their willingness to publicly express concern for and confidence in the scientific consensus that we face a critical and growing problem, expected to cause 250,000 deaths per year between 2030 and 2050.

Over the past few years, climate action beyond the federal government has also been significant. Hundreds of corporations have pledged membership to co-operative initiatives independent of the Paris agreement, making commitments to lower CO₂ emissions and move towards renewable energy sources. For example, Race to Zero, joined by over 400 US companies, seeks to rally non-state actors to halve emissions by 2030 and reduce them to zero by 2050.

State, city and local governments have also been picking up the slack left at the federal level. Today, over 300 US cities have made climate commitments, action plans, or are participating in co-operative initiatives. Large cities are connecting with global partners through organisations such as C40 Cities, a group of mayors representing some 700mn people worldwide.

According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, between cities, companies and private investors, a total of 3,792 non-federal US actors have engaged with climate action. And while it's true that not all commitments are backed up with concrete or consistent action, the collective expression of resolve is itself critically important.

This is not out of step with the views of the American public: according to a Gallup survey from March, 48 per cent of Americans believe that climate change will pose a "serious threat", marking an all-time high. Such findings suggest that despite drastic rollbacks on climate action at the federal level, the US public is increasingly aware of the severity of the climate crisis.

It is certainly true that party attachments are the basis for differences in climate-related attitudes -- Republicans are far more supportive than Democrats of Donald Trump's approach to the climate.

However, in surveys I conducted with colleagues in 2023 and 2024, we found that although Republicans were much less supportive of climate-related foreign assistance than Democrats, almost two-thirds favoured at least some government support. Just over 50 per cent said they were willing to make a donation to a charity fighting climate change. When presented with information about CO₂ emissions from the US relative to poorer countries, Americans were more likely to support climate assistance.

I don't want to minimise the magnitude of lost opportunity here. It would be naive to suggest that these subnational and private actors can act fully autonomously from a federal government that is selectively vengeful against individuals and organisations that defy its worldview. But many recognise the need to take scientific findings seriously and show leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing infrastructure to withstand the harsh effects of a warming climate.

America's federal retreat on the environment is very real. But the country is also unique in its private and organised capacity. To the extent that these actors can co-ordinate within their industries and networks, they can lead a distinctively American response. While this may not be fully reassuring, it is important to distinguish our current administration from the society it governs. Much of America is still trying to play its part in mitigating climate change, even if the president is not.

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