Many different actors are promoting local mitigation. Four important –– or potentially important –– actors are local government, universities, business, and environmental, social, and faith-based organizations.
Local government and politicians have taken leadership for local mitigation at thousands of locations around the world. Perhaps the best case of local government leadership is the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. More than 1,000 mayors have signed the Agreement, committing to the following three actions (Mayors Climate Protection Center, 2011 [1]):
Universities have proven to be key agents in local mitigation efforts (Knuth et al., 2007). As large institutions, universities emit significant amounts of GHGs and have the expertise to quantify those emissions. They provide moral leadership by developing their own mitigation plans. University researchers develop new GHG inventory and mitigation techniques. Universities educate students about climate change and GHG emissions, often facilitating community outreach involving students. They also often provide scientific expertise to local governments and other local actors to help these entities develop climate mitigation plans. In the U.S. alone, hundreds of universities are engaged in climate change mitigation.
Numerous non-profit, non-governmental environmental organizations are involved in local mitigation efforts, including the following three notable examples.
Links
[1] https://www.usmayors.org/mayors-climate-protection-center/
[2] https://www.usmayors.org/mayors/
[3] https://www.usmayors.org/
[4] https://www.iclei.org/
[5] https://www.dep.pa.gov/Citizens/climate/Pages/Local-Climate-Action.aspx#:~:text=The%20DEP%20Energy%20Programs%20Office,greenhouse%20gas%20(GHG)%20emissions.
[6] https://news.psu.edu/story/617610/2020/04/29/academics/world-campus-students-help-pennsylvania-boroughs-make-climate
[7] https://www.adaptationclearinghouse.org/organizations/clean-air-cool-planet-ca-cp.html
[8] https://www.climatestrategies.us/