About Climate Communities

Climate Communities is a national coalition of cities and counties that is educating federal policymakers about the essential role of local governments in developing new approaches to create livable communities, reduce energy use and curb greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Communities is working with local governments to ensure that federal policies provide strong incentives and resources for local clean energy and sustainability actions

Climate Communities will ensure that the federal government:

• Recognizes and enhances the critical role of local governments on climate change;
• Provides the funding and incentives needed to achieve local climate change progress;
• Ensures that national carbon control laws and regulations provide opportunities and incentives for local solutions to climate change challenges; and
• Helps localities address and pay for any new mandates imposed on communities.

In December 2007, more than 25 local government climate leaders met in Washington, DC to begin developing the federal advocacy priorities for Climate Communities.  These city and county officials also met privately with Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s chairwoman, to seek opportunities to ensure that federal tools and resources continue to spur the implementation of innovative climate change initiatives at the local level.

Climate Communities is already realizing significant climate change successes:

• Climate Communities worked with Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT) and John Warner (R-VA), the sponsors of the Climate Security Act of 2008 (S. 3036), to include more than $300 billion for climate actions at the local government level.  This legislation originally included no funding, no allowance allocations, no auction proceeds, no offset credits, no technical assistance, and no direct help for local climate activities.
• Climate Communities rallied local government support for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, and helped secure $3.2 billion for the program in the economic stimulus legislation.  The EECBG Program enables cities and counties to enact strategies that reduce fossil fuel emissions, cut total energy use and improve energy efficiency.
• Climate Communities has worked with Congress to secure $20 million in FY 2009 and FY 2010 appropriations for a Climate Communities proposal to create a climate change demonstration pilot program.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Showcase Communities grants enable local governments to implement projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2010, Climate Communities launched the Energy Block Grants Work! campaign to win FY 2012 funding for the EECBG program.  We plan to demonstrate the success of the EECBG program by profiling how communities across the country are using block grant dollars to create jobs, reduce energy use, and curb greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Communities has also worked with Congress to create the Climate Showcase Communities program at EPA and built local government support for the new HUD-DOT-EPA Sustainable Communities initiative, which will distribute more than $150 million in grants to regions and local governments to link transportation, housing and land use.

Executive Committee

Climate Communities is led by an Executive Committee of local government elected leaders.

Staff

Climate Communities is managed by The Ferguson Group, a Washington, DC, government affairs firm with more than 25 years of experience in federal advocacy, coalition-building, community revitalization, and environmental and energy innovation. 

For more information, call (202) 261-6011.