State of the Southeast: How Cities are Addressing Climate Change

The Southeast faces unique challenges in attempts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change. It is one of the fastest-growing regions of the United States. The region also enjoys cheap energy relative to other regions in the U.S., which likely factors into its disproportionate energy use. In addition, a number of recent reports have detailed the ways climate will change in the Southeast, revealing significant vulnerabilities and risks. But the region’s leadership at the state and federal level has often voiced opposition to climate action. These contradictions make local efforts to mitigate emissions and prepare for climate change both difficult and imperative.

Author(s): Amy Morsch

Published: July 2010

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This report aims to shed light on how major Southeastern cities are addressing climate change—or whether they are at all. This report focuses on seven indicators that are used to compare the voluntary institutional efforts made by major Southeastern municipalities with regard to climate change awareness, analysis, and planning. These indicators were chosen because they showcase the common ways communities have addressed the issue of climate change and because they tend to reflect the priority level of the issue for local governments. The indicators include 1) the presence of an office or initiative, 2) signatory status of the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement, 3) membership in ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, 4) membership in the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, 5) completion of a greenhouse gas inventory, 6) determination of an emissions reduction target, and 6) completion of a climate change adaptation plan. This report serves only to show what cities have done in terms of these indicators, with some analysis of trends. The quality and success of such efforts is not analyzed, but remain important questions for future research. Because cities are taking new actions every day, the Southeast Climate Resource Center plans to consistently update this report over the coming year.