States Embrace Climate Leadership as Trump Heads to White House

States and cities are armoring up for increased climate responsibility as they face another four years of expected environmental rollbacks under a second Trump administration.

Pro-environment governors and mayors say they’ll push forward their state goals, even if federal climate leadership tanks. States stepped up to fill gaps when Republican President-elect Donald Trump took office the first time, and they can do it again, said Deb Markowitz, secretary of Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources from 2011 to 2017.

“We really kept somewhat on track despite the fact that you had Donald Trump talking about bringing back coal,” she said.

State officials have an idea of what the next four years could look like. During his first term, Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations, withdrew the country from the Paris climate agreement, and supported a vast expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling.

He has since vowed to repeal any unspent funds from the Inflation Reduction Act, the $369 billion federal climate law.

Adding extra pressure is a US Supreme Court that has repeatedly limited federal environmental protections and thrown out the longstanding tradition of agency deference, limiting federal agencies’ power to defend some rules in court.

“There’s no sugarcoating this at all: it’s bad,” said Justin Balik, state program director at Evergreen Action.

But states might actually be in a better position to fight back this time around, Balik said. The country will next year have seven more Democratic governors than it did in 2017. The number of Democratic trifectas in state governments has also increased since Trump first took office—though Republicans toppled two key states’ Democratic majorities this year.

In short, states are ready to step up—but challenging the incoming administration through lawsuits, policymaking, and more will be an extra burden alongside their normal duties, he said.

“Governors have a decades-long track record of advancing innovative, effective climate solutions, and we won’t be deterred by the result of this or any other election,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said in a US Climate Alliance statement.

Filling the Void—Again

States work closely with environmental policy— the Environmental Protection Agency tasks them with implementing new regulations that roll down. But they’re about to take on a new, critical role in guarding their resources, said Kim Coble, co-chair of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change.

“There’s no doubt that things shifted dramatically,” she said, referring to the presidential election. “States are the safety net to ensuring that our country continues to make progress over the next four years.”

Several states this year preserved key environmental programs in the voting booth. Washington state residents voted to keep the state’s carbon-slashing cap-and-invest program; Minnesota voters extended a program aimed at protecting air, water, and wildlife; and Wisconsin rejected a bid to limit governors’ ability to spend federal dollars, including climate dollars.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) also called a special session to begin Dec. 2 to shore up state policies before Trump takes office.

“Governors filled the void of leadership during President-elect Trump’s first term, and Americans can be assured we’re prepared to fill it again,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in the US Climate Alliance statement.

Political Influence

Environmental progress will largely depend on a state’s political affiliation if federal rules loosen, said Bob Martineau, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation from 2011 to 2018. Blue states like California will scramble to bolster environmental protections, Martineau said. Red states, meanwhile, could feel emboldened to roll back policies.

Cities can also step in. Justin Bibb—the Democratic mayor of Cleveland and chair of the Climate Mayors organization—released a statement reaffirming 350 mayors’ commitment to local climate action “in the absence of national leadership.”

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell (D) pointed to energy efficiency, green job opportunities, and severe weather event preparation as key going forward.

“Every election is a climate election at this point, and it is more clear than ever that cities must lead,” O’Connell said in an emailed statement.

Politics aside, enforcing environmental rules gets a lot harder without federal support, said Martineau, the former Tennessee environment commissioner.

“If you’re in a red state but you’re pro-environment, you’re going to have a challenge,” Martineau said.