The 24 states that have already set 100 percent clean energy targets need to deploy clean energy as fast as possible in the near term to avoid backsliding on existing commitments, and new states should join them in setting ambitious clean energy standards. One primary way to prevent backsliding is to ensure that utilities are not building new gas power plants out of step with climate goals and that state utility regulators are not approving them. States can do this by requiring utility resource planning to be consistent with science-based climate goals and by disclosing the bad economics of gas plants. Public utility commissions can also take steps to implement performance-based regulation to realign utility incentives in favor of decarbonization—and legislators can pass laws that reduce utility corruption, political donations, and ratepayer-funded lobbying.

Additionally, states can create offices for energy justice, the energy transition, and economic development to ensure that the transition to clean energy reduces environmental injustice and energy burden, creates good-paying union jobs for communities affected by the transition, and attracts clean energy industries of the future.

State policymakers are well-positioned to tackle those challenges. We’ve already seen states develop diverse policy approaches to industrial pollution, including declining emissions caps on industrial facilities, decarbonization incentives, and state Buy Clean initiatives to drive demand for low-carbon products. Reforms to air permitting processes that cover industry can also enable states to require clean technologies at industrial sites, like heat pumps, thermal batteries, and electrical battery storage, all of which can ultimately make industry more competitive globally. Under the second Trump administration, every climate-conscious governor should fight to implement this full suite of proven industrial decarbonization tools.

The next four years also afford the opportunity for more innovative approaches to industrial decarbonization. Public utility commissions can reform rates to make electricity a more affordable alternative for industrial facilities; states can expand residential clean heat standards to include industrial-scale heating equipment, like boilers and process heaters; clean air offices can impose new limits on industrial air pollution as a compliance measure with the Clean Air Act; and much more. States can and should pick up the baton to drive industrial decarbonization, regardless of the Trump administration’s backslides.

For states that haven’t yet done so, it’s critical that they update their energy efficiency standards to reflect the latest building codes. These changes mean higher quality buildings that are cleaner, safer, and more resilient that can save households $500/year on utility bills—even after you account for any increases in costs for meeting the latest codes. States and cities can go further by enacting Building Performance Standards, which require all larger buildings, both new and existing, to steadily improve their energy performance over time, saving money and reducing pollution.

Addressing housing affordability is also key, and states and local governments must update their policies to allow people to build abundant and affordable housing. This should include upzoning for higher density, removing parking minimums in areas near jobs and transit, and aligning transportation funding with housing goals. It should also include investments in preserving and building affordable housing, especially for low-income families and those most in need. 

States must also ensure equity by providing incentives to help low- and middle-income families save money by weatherizing their homes while also upgrading them to clean and efficient electric heating equipment. Clean heat standards can secure funding from utilities for these efficiency and electrification upgrades and ultimately save families money on their utility bills. Public utility commissions should require integrated resource plans to prevent wasteful investments in aging gas infrastructure, ensuring ratepayer dollars aren't squandered on a soon-to-be-obsolete system. Instead, utilities should be investing in zero-emission infrastructure like thermal energy networks and other neighborhood-scale decarbonization efforts. 

And finally, in many places electricity costs are just way too high, leaving many families overburdened by their utility bills. States need to keep electricity costs low by speeding the build-out of cheap renewable energy and energy storage. And states need to make sure that electric rates are fair and affordable for people who are heating their homes with heat pumps. Current rates often charge more than the true costs for winter electric usage, and there are many options for updating electricity rates to better reflect their true costs while supporting efficiency and electrification.

Implementing the IRA 

States will carry the baton to maximize the benefits of these programs on the ground. Some of the most powerful tools at states’ disposal are direct support for planning efforts, as well as recurring tax credits and financing: 

• Clean Energy Tax Credits, including Direct Pay (also known as Elective Pay)
• Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Implementation Awards and continued support to develop new Comprehensive Climate Plans 
• Financing support for state-supported clean energy projects from the DOE’s Loan Program Office
• Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund capital support for state and local green banks

Why Focusing on State-Level Action Is a Successful Strategy for Climate Progress

The above punch list provides actionable steps and empowers states to capitalize on past successes and drive future climate progress. Regardless of federal leadership, states can still make significant strides in addressing the climate crisis over the next four years. Our past progress serves as compelling evidence of the power of state-level climate action and the promise of what could come. 

In 2024, we secured the following gains together, and more: 

• In Michigan, we defended the Clean Energy and Jobs Act from right-wing attacks and misinformation. This act contained a package of bills to expedite the siting of solar, wind, and storage projects and also included community benefit agreements to boost jobs and community investment. 
• In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz signed legislation that will shorten and streamline the energy siting process, helping the state hit its transition to 100 percent clean electricity by 2040. 
• In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey signed an act that reforms the siting and permitting of clean energy, expands the electric vehicle (EV) charging network, supports offshore wind, helps decarbonize buildings, and protects ratepayers. 
• New York revived its first-of-its-kind congestion pricing program to reduce traffic and its harmful pollution and raise money for mass transit.
• Vermont became the first state to hold fossil fuel polluters accountable for their damage by passing the Climate Superfund Act.
• 45 states created up-to-date climate plans to allow them to tackle pollution and transition to a clean energy economy via the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program 
• Nine states and D.C. have signed an agreement for heat pump sales targets reaching 65 percent of the market by 2030 and 90 percent by 2040. 
• D.C. created the Breathe Easy Program to provide residential electrification retrofits for low-income and moderate-income households
• California passed the Neighborhood Decarbonization Act which allows for up to thirty pilot projects to electrify entire neighborhoods rather than waste money upgrading aging gas lines. Similar bills passed in Colorado and Washington.
• Maryland is moving towards zero-emission buildings with Gov. Wes Moore signing an executive order calling for a zero-emission heating equipment standard (ZEHES) and a Clean Heat Standard. 

States Have Always Been Key to Climate Policy

Climate action can continue even under a Trump presidency. Much of the climate progress of the past four years has been popular and effective, with the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act paying dividends in red and blue states, alike. We must preserve and protect this progress and keep climate progress alive by getting climate-committed candidates into office and ensuring states and local governments hold the line and continue advancing ambitious climate policies. 

From Washington to New York, California to Minnesota, states have already shown that local climate action is popular and possible. By focusing on the clean energy, transportation, buildings, and heavy industry sectors, states can build on the momentum of climate progress, protect people from pollution, and support affordable, healthy communities.