The United States of America’s second withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord under the Trump administration has enormous implications for both international and local climate efforts - and the Inflation Reduction Act is also potentially under threat. If the IRA is even partially repealed, it would be a huge step backwards in the fight against the climate crisis. But all is not lost - engaged individuals and organizations are striving to ensure the it stays and place, and more broadly, cities, mayors, and subnational entities are playing a critical role in continuing climate action amidst federal challenges. This coalition of actors are leading the growing resistance movement stateside and globally, proving the importance of local level engagement in the bid to halt climate breakdown.

Image credit: Chelsea Matson Photography

Featured guests:

Kate Johnson, C40 Regional Director for North America

Amy Turner, Director of the City's Climate Law Initiative at the Sabin Center, Columbia University

Links:

Trump signs order to withdraw US from Paris climate agreement for second time - The Guardian

Elon Musk Says DOGE Aims to Finish $1 Trillion in Cuts by End of May - Bloomberg

The Data Hoarders Resisting Trump’s Purge - The New Yorker

Inflation Reduction Act Archives C40 website

Climate action and the Inflation Reduction Act: A guide for local government leaders - C40 Knowledge Hub

One Year After Trump Decision to Withdraw from Paris Agreement, U.S. Cities Carry Climate Action Forward - C40 website

Appeals Court Keeps Order Barring Federal Funding Freezes in Place - New York Times

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/