When Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement shortly into his first term, concerned states got together and vowed to fight for climate action. These same states awoke last November to a version of Groundhog Day, facing the same President with the same – if not more virulent – climate antipathy. Once again, they swore to take up the gauntlet and charge forward with their own climate plans.
But can they? Between 2017 and today, the American climate landscape has fundamentally transformed. The two landmark Biden climate bills – the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill – pumped nearly a trillion dollars into thousands of programs across the country to help states and cities begin moving towards a more sustainable future – DAC hubs, home electrification, battery plants, EV charging stations, smart agriculture. Hundreds of millions were earmarked for CDR technologies. It is estimated that about half of this money has actually reached states and local governments; the rest is tied up in legal wrangling. Can states really step in to this chaos of half-completed programs and funding fights and pick up the reins?