States Are Tackling Climate, Using Federal Cash as Congress Lags

State legislatures around the country have shown a burst of reception for bills that lower carbon emissions, and they’re turning to funding from last year’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure law.

Democratic-led legislatures this year have already tackled climate change directly. Maryland passed a Climate Solutions Now act to accelerate emissions reduction. Washington and Illinois built on their 2021 landmark cap-and-trade and clean energy workforce transition bills respectively. Still in session, California and Massachusetts are advancing new climate packages.

Some Republican-led states such as Nebraska and South Carolina, despite resistance to sweeping plans framed as climate action, are nonetheless lowering greenhouse gas ...