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 EPA established the State & Local Climate Change Program in the early 1990s to assist public officials in addressing climate change issues. The program provides education and outreach assistance, technical assistance, conferences, publications, a mailing list for public officials and other similarly interested groups and individuals, and support for this web page.
Communities and states will have to deal directly with the impacts of climate change and pay for many of the associated costs. For state and local agencies, changes in climate may make protection of public health, the environment, and the economy more difficult. Climate change will affect all states. At the same time, states and localities have a significant role to play in addressing climate change because they have regulatory authority over many direct and indirect sources of greenhouse gas emissions. For example, states and communities have direct control over the buildings they occupy and the vehicle fleets they operate. These operations involve the use of fossil fuels that leads to the emission of greenhouse gases.
Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may yield a range of additional environmental and social benefits. For example, reducing emissions from fossil fuels also reduces emissions of criteria air pollutants, such as oxides of nitrogen which form ground-level ozone.
There are many opportunities for states and localities to prepare for climate change and act on it. Many states and communities are taking the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reaping the benefits of their actions. In addition, many other voluntary Federal programs reduce emissions while reducing costs.
This site includes a large database containing state specific emissions data and information. It also contains a variety of information on state and local actions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, including a query tool for finding out about different technologies and policy options that have been considered at the state and local levels.
The State and Local Climate Change Outreach Kit is a one-stop source for the outreach materials that state and local leaders need to inform the public about global warming. The Global Warming Site also houses the online publication, Inside the Greenhouse with feature stories highlighting successful greenhouse gas mitigation efforts, climate change impacts, and upcoming conferences and news briefs.
And, while you are here, or on one of your next visits, take some time to explore the rest of the site. There is a wealth of background material available on global climate change science, greenhouse gas emissions, climate impacts, and real world mitigation activity literally at your fingertips. Now, on to:
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