How US states are leading the climate fight – despite Trump’s rollbacks
As the Trump administration rolls back decades-old environmental protections and pulls Biden-era incentives for renewable energy, state-level advocates and officials are preparing to fill the void in climate action.
Some state leaders are preparing to legally challenge the president’s environmental rollbacks, while others are testifying against them in Congress. Meanwhile, advocates are pushing for states to meet their ambitious climate goals using methods and technologies that don’t require federal support.
“Our states, cities, businesses, and local institutions stand ready to pick up the baton of US climate leadership and do all they can – despite federal complacency – to continue the shift to a clean energy economy,” Gina McCarthy, former climate adviser to Biden and co-chair of the America Is All In coalition of climate-concerned states and cities, said this month.
Among the most promising activity: the creation of a fund to take Trump to court, the passage of policies to make oil companies pay for climate damages, and the continual buildout of already-permitted wind power.
“The state is not helpless against the president’s assault on the environment,” said Devin Callahan, communications director at the New York League of Conservation Voters. “We need our leaders to recognize the gravity of this moment.”
1. New York’s major climate bills
How it’s leading: Weeks after Trump’s election, the state’s governor, Kathy Hochul, signed several major climate bills into law. One will force big oil and gas producers to help pay for climate effects to which their emissions have contributed for the next 25 years, similar to a measure Vermont passed months before.
Another new law will ensure schools are built far from from highly polluting roadways, and a third will expand the state’s 10-year-old fracking ban to outlaw the process of injecting liquified carbon dioxide to pull gas from the ground. Days after Trump’s election, Hochul also abruptly resurrected a plan to enact a toll for driving in congested zones, and this month pledged to allocate $1bn to greening the economy.
In response to Trump exiting the US from the Paris climate accords for the second time, Hochul also led a group of two dozen governors, representing nearly 55% of the US population, redoubling commitments to slash planet-warming pollution: “Our states and territories continue to have broad authority under the US constitution to protect our progress and advance the climate solutions we need,” Hochul wrote.
During Trump’s first term, New York also signed an ambitious 2019 mandate to obtain 70% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030. Now, officials have a major opportunity to ensure that goal is met – even under Trump.
What to watch: Despite climate progress in other areas, Hochul has recently disappointed climate advocates by delaying two state climate programs to place a price on carbon emissions, and to gradually transition homes away from gas-powered heat.
Both measures would help reduce emissions and lower energy costs – and neither can be derailed by Trump, said Callahan of New York League of Conservation Voters. Hochul could recommit to both, he said.
Trump’s assault on climate policy also need not necessarily stop the clean energy transition. In fact, a 2023 policy makes New York poised to be a wind and solar leader.
That year, amid concern that New York was not on track with its climate targets, New York enabled a state agency, the New York Power Authority (NYPA), to build carbon-free power. Since it is well-resourced, it can do so without the federal incentives that Trump is scrapping, advocates say. The agency also owns land where clean energy infrastructure could be built, which could make it more resilient to permitting restrictions, said Sarahana Shrestha, a socialist state assembly member.
“NYPA is well-suited to insulate New York from the Trump administration when it comes to our climate goals,” she said.
Advocates have long said the NYPA should bring enough renewable energy online to enable New York to reach its goal of 70% renewable power by the decade’s end. But this week, the authority said it would build just one-fifth of that capacity, infuriating advocates.
The NYPA’s CEO also said the agency should not be required to lead the energy transition. Advocates are now calling on Hochul to fire the NYPA head and work to put the state back on track with its clean energy mandate.
2. California gets ready for legal fights
How it’s leading: California is often seen as a leader of the anti-Trump resistance, and with good reason. Just two days after Trump’s November re-election, California lawmakers held a special session to begin preparing to defend its progressive policies from his administration.
Now, state lawmakers are working to put money toward that cause. The California governor, Gavin Newsom, and Democratic legislative leaders are planning to allocate $50m in state money to fund the legal costs of fighting against Trump’s administration. The state sued federal officials 123 times between 2017 and 2021, according to a CalMatters analysis of state data.
Trump has already taken aim at California this month, threatening to withhold disaster aid from the state amid devastating wildfires and falsely claiming in a social media post that the US military intervened to ensure water was used to fight the flames.
The president has also sowed chaos within California’s electric vehicle economy, signing orders to freeze charging infrastructure funding and abandon Biden’s ambitious vehicle decarbonization goals. In another order, Trump’s White House also said it would seek to “terminate” state emissions waivers “that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles”.
It took aim at special permission California received in December to enact regulations forcing automakers to sell only carbon-free new vehicles in the state by 2035. But state lawmakers have pledged to fight back.
What to watch: It remains to be seen how many of California’s legal challenges against the Trump administration will successfully overturn policy. Trump lost more than two-thirds of the lawsuits filed against his administration – a lower rate than that of the three administrations prior, according to one New York University analysis.
In the meantime, Newsom appears to be taking a different approach to his relationship with Trump. While he took a more combative tack during the president’s first term, last week Newsom met him in Los Angeles and thanked him for his visit.
Wind turbines at an energy farm in Tracy, California. Photograph: John G Mabanglo/EPA As they watch the Newsom-Trump fight over climate policy play out, California environmentalists are also working to pass stronger climate policies. Many, for instance, are calling on the state to pass its own measure forcing fossil fuel companies to help pay for climate damages. In the past week, more than 40,000 people signed a petition supporting the bill.
3. Rhode Island embraces renewables
How it’s leading: During Trump’s first term, environmentalists and labor leaders in Rhode Island worked together to push for an ambitious bill requiring that by 2033, the state must procure 100% of its energy from renewable energy. It passed just three months after Trump left office.
The following year, officials passed a law mandating the state bring 1,000 megawatts of wind power online by 2027, and another one in 2022 requiring strong labor standards for all new renewable energy.
As Trump asserts that fossil-fuel expansion benefits American workers, Rhode Island has demonstrated that renewables can create good jobs, said Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO. This could make it easier for organizers to build support for clean power, even among conservatives.
“This is domestically sourced energy, so we don’t have to rely on foreign sources of oil or gas that mean we’re subject to price instability when Russia invades Ukraine,” Crowley said. “And we’re showing people it creates good jobs here in the United States, so even from a conservative’s point of view, offshore wind can be a win-win.”
What to watch: Trump may not derail all progress on renewables – for now. Though he has hit the pause button on new offshore wind leasing, the impacts in Rhode Island and the rest of New England could be limited, because it does not require fully permitted projects to come to a halt.
“We have a dozen fully permitted projects in New England,” said Crowley. “Those ones look like they’re going to be fine.”
More attacks on offshore wind could be on the way from federal officials, which could potentially further imperil those permitted wind projects. But even if they do, officials could keep working on measures that don’t require Trump’s approval, Crowley said.
The Rhode Island governor, Dan McKee, for instance, included a measure to reduce carbon emissions from buildings in his budget proposal for 2025 – something climate advocates have demanded for years and are hoping is finalized.
“Building decarbonization doesn’t need federal money or approval,” Crowley said.
Another area where progress may continue: geothermal energy. The carbon-free power source may be less susceptible to Trump’s policies than wind or solar, experts say.
This year, advocates hope to pass a bill boosting the carbon-free power source, and to begin constructing pilot projects.
“That’s a state-based initiative and it doesn’t need federal support,” said Crowley.
4. Red states, too
How they’re leading: It’s not just Democratic states that can continue pushing for climate progress under Trump. Red states will also be integral.
Biden’s signature climate policy, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), provided record-breaking incentives in tax credits for companies to build wind, solar and other carbon-free technologies, as well as other climate-focused programs.
No Republicans on Capitol Hill voted for the bill. However, red districts benefited most from those monies, receiving 85% of the investment from the policy and 68% of the jobs created. As a result, many saw huge expansions of wind, solar and other green industries.
Trump last week froze the distribution of unspent IRA funds. But Republican states aren’t giving up without a fight.
What to watch: Last week, at least eight Republicans gave testimony calling on the federal government not to slash IRA tax credits. Speaking before the House ways and means committee, they explained that the law has created economic opportunity in their districts.
In August, 18 House Republicans also implored Mike Johnson, the speaker, to preserve the incentives. “Energy tax credits have spurred innovation, incentivized investment, and created good jobs in many parts of the country – including many districts represented by members of our conference,” they wrote in a letter.
And it’s not only politicians who are working to preserve the credits. In the swing state of Wisconsin, which has a Republican-led legislature and Democratic governor and has seen millions of dollars in investment from the IRA, rank-and-file union members are writing letters in defense of the credits.
“Our members who work on these projects are the best ones to explain what these projects mean to them,” said Kent Miller, president of the Wisconsin Laborers’ District Council.
IRA incentives led Wisconsin’s four largest investor-owned utilities to commit last year to building out clean energy with unionized labor – progress workers don’t want to see derailed.
“In some cases … because of these projects, they were able to buy their first home, or they were able to save enough to put their kid through college,” Miller said. “That needs to be heard.”
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