Climate Change Progress

The modern-day environmental movement took off in the 1960s, following a series of environmental disasters that captured U.S. national attention, from deadly smog episodes to rivers catching fire from oil pollution. Congress began passing major environmental laws to protect our drinking water, air, public lands, wildlife, and oceans throughout the next several decades. International leaders also began to collaborate on climate solutions, collectively adopting several major treaties, including:

• The 1987 Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer by phasing out harmful compounds such as CFCs, which are greenhouse gases (GHG); the fight to get this passed was one that NRDC led at home and abroad.
• The 1992 U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, where countries established the first international framework to commit to climate action.
• The landmark Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, in which nations agreed to legally mandated, country-specific emissions reduction targets.
• The Paris Agreement, adopted by nearly every country in the world in 2015, which requires all parties to work together to limit global temperature increases to well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels (and to strive for 1.5 degrees). 

In the United States, federal lawmakers passed the most sweeping and important piece of climate legislation to date—the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. Through billions of dollars of investment in clean energy and climate justice, it aims to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent (from 2005 levels) by 2030 to meet the U.S. target of a 50–52 percent cut. The IRA followed another legislative win geared toward cutting our carbon footprint and making communities and infrastructure more climate resilient: 2021’s bipartisan, $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, now known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Both laws passed on a wave of strong public support, including from NRDC members and activists. 

President Trump has taken aim at the investments under these laws (and announced plans to withdraw the nation from the Paris Agreement). But the BIL and IRA have already yielded progress on the ground—just look at the growing renewable energy workforce in our heartland—and nearly 4,000 state and community leaders have pledged to uphold decarbonization goals. Meanwhile, 33 states have created individual climate action plans to reduce GHG emissions. California, Illinois, and New York are among those leading the way to advance clean energy development, energy efficiency initiatives, nature protections, and critical climate infrastructure projects, like coastal resiliency and flood mitigation systems

Climate solutions are within our reach—and with your support, we’ll ensure we keep making measurable, durable progress. 

Fighting dirty infrastructure projects and supporting renewables 

Phasing fossil fuels out of our power grid remains essential to curbing emissions. It’s why NRDC continues to fight against initiatives that would take us backward, like the massive proposed Saguaro Energía liquefied natural gas project, which would turn a UNESCO World Heritage site into a dirty energy sacrifice zone. It’s also why we advocate for policies like the BIL and IRA, which invest in the growth of the renewables economy, most recently valued at $700 billion globally. 

Fossil fuel executives and their allies continue to spread misinformation that renewables stunt economic growth. But as the industries have grown, NRDC has shown that businesses are booming thanks to policies like the IRA—and the job opportunities, including in rural economies, have grown in tandem. The U.S. Department of Energy recently found that renewable energy jobs accounted for more than 40 percent of the energy industry. That’s roughly 3.5 million people working in the industry—in wind turbine maintenance, solar panel installation, EV tech, battery production, and more. Notably, the renewable technologies at the heart of these fields are increasingly becoming the most economical energy options, priming these industries to expand further.

Supporting EV growth 

In the United States, the transportation sector accounts for nearly a third of greenhouse gas emissions, making it the largest direct source of climate pollution in the country. But the sector is also undergoing a significant shift. Electric vehicle sales have skyrocketed in the last decade, thanks to increased affordability, greater mileage due to battery improvements, robust charging station networks, and consumers’ growing climate consciousness. These milestones build on work we’ve been doing in the sector for more than a decade. Through advocacy from NRDC and our coalition partners, we’ve now seen 12 states plus Washington, D.C., adopt California’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, which will require automakers to sell an increasing number of zero-emission vehicles over time while reducing emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles. We also continue to support clean truck standards to mitigate the diesel pollution affecting frontline communities living alongside freight corridors.

Protecting northern forests

NRDC is at the forefront of elevating the long-overlooked problem of industrial logging in the Global North and its toll on species, the climate, and Indigenous and local communities. We work with policymakers at all levels of government to build accountability for logging-driven degradation and set strong marketplace standards for products sourced from northern forests—some of the most carbon-rich lands in the world. Through our annual Issue with Tissue scorecard, we identify for consumers which toilet paper, facial tissue, and paper towel brands are made from the most forest-friendly materials, and we have influenced several major brands to clean up the supply chains that are taking a toll on the boreal forest of Canada. 

Reducing food waste

In the United States, between 30 to 40 percent of all food goes unsold or uneaten, and the majority of it ends up in landfills, becoming a major source of methane emissions—a highly potent greenhouse gas. Recognizing this opportunity for climate action, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set a national goal to cut food waste in half by 2030. Toward this end, NRDC’s work with local partners has helped yield some notable state-level wins: a bill in California to standardize confusing food labels (which lead consumers to throw out goods that may still be perfectly edible), and a food waste reduction road map in Michigan that advances strategies such as the rescue of surplus food and organics recycling. 

Enhancing climate resilience 

Climate adaptation refers to how we are protecting our communities and natural systems from climate hazards that are being felt now or that have become unavoidable. For example, in flood-prone regions throughout the United States, NRDC is pushing for reforms, state by state, that would help protect residents from home flooding disasters and seeks to inform prospective homebuyers and renters of their risks through our flood risk disclosure scorecard. We are also focusing on how risk reduction efforts get reflected in homeowners’ insurance rates, which have been spiking around the country in disaster-prone regions, particularly in California, Florida, and Louisiana. 

Adapting to extreme heat has been another key area for climate resilience planning. NRDC has pushed for better occupational heat safety standards for the millions of workers in America who lack adequate protection from this deadly threat. Since just 2020, advocates have successfully called for new heat protections in states such as Colorado and for heat rulemakings, both federally and in states such as Maryland and Oregon.

The challenge is particularly urgent in the Global South, especially in India. Since 2019, NRDC’s India team has partnered with the Self Employed Women’s Association to implement the Hariyali Green Village initiative in 15 villages throughout the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The work focuses on deploying various climate-friendly technologies, ranging from cooling roofs to energy-efficient lighting and fans to precision irrigation systems, which help save water. These efforts are mirrored on a bigger scale as well: The NRDC India team collaborates with local partners to help advance more efficient state-level building energy codes and reports that by 2028, cooling roof materials will sit atop buildings across 116 square miles of the state of Telangana, home to 35 million people. The result is expected to avoid 30 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, cumulatively.

NRDC has played a critical role in defending our nation’s bedrock environmental policies and programs over the last 55 years. Our successful legal battles have included stopping dangerous oil and gas pipelines, defending clean car regulations, and protecting endangered species. And our track record fighting the Trump administration speaks for itself: We sued the first Trump administration 163 times, winning nearly 90 percent of resolved cases. NRDC’s legal defense against the second Trump administration is already underway. 

We need your support to continue this work. The momentum of the climate movement has been building for the past 60 years—it’s up to all of us to keep it going for future generations. 

• Voice your concerns: Reach out to your city, state, and federal representatives. They are here to serve you and your community. Click here to find out who your representatives are and how to contact them.
• Vote: It’s not just the presidential elections that are important. The results of state and city races may impact your daily life even more than the federal ones. Stay informed on the candidates running to represent your community.
• Learn: Climate change is a vast and complex topic. Start with the basics here, and slowly work your way into an issue area that inspires you to take action, whether it is by composting more of your food waste or combating climate misinformation.
• And finally, take the time you need to stay motivated and energized: Don’t bottle up any climate anxiety or grief. Allow yourself to process those feelings and talk openly about them—it’ll give you the strength to keep fighting for the world you believe in.