This publication is part of a collaborative series from over 30 organizations released in support of the Global Climate Action Summit, which showcase the extraordinary action of states, regions, cities, businesses, investors and citizens – and assess the opportunity for even greater impact.

Collectively, working independently and in coalitions with national governments, these actors have the potential to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. For example, global emissions in 2030 could be cut by a third if all international cooperative initiatives—such as Under2 Coalition, RE100, C40, the Global Covenant of Mayors, and those defined independently by scores of communities—meet their goals.

In this specific publication, we focus on local communities, including cities and counties from the United States to understand the interplay between local, state, and national action as well as their contributions to national and global efforts to reduce emissions and prevent the most damaging impacts of climate change.