Our local governments — cities and counties — have a major role to play in helping lead the way to a more carbon-neutral future. They can lead by example by reducing energy use in their own operations. They can provide incentives to support actions by citizens and businesses. And they can help educate the public about the need to act on climate change.
GCBL Climate Toolkit for Local Communities
We've assembled a climate toolkit for local communities to help guide you through the process of addressing climate change in your community and government operations. Since every community is different, this toolkit is meant to serve as a guide, not a step-by-step "how-to" manual.
Table of contents
- Introduction
- Understand the science
- Understand the local impacts
- Commit to climate action
- Understand your carbon footprint
- Develop an action plan
- Assess and track your progress
- Identify funding for projects
During a survey conducted during the summer of 2009, we learned that nearly every community in Northeast Ohio is doing something to further sustainability in their community. Throughout the suggested actions sections of the toolkit we highlight some of these activities. Is your city or community working to reduce its climate impact? Email us and let us help you tell your story!
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Additional resources and best practices
- Mayors Climate Protection Center
The U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Center officially launched on February 20, 2007 in recognition of an increasingly urgent need to provide mayors with the guidance and assistance they need to lead their cities’ efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are linked to climate change.- Mayors and Climate Protection Best Practices (2008)
- Mayors and Climate Protection Best Practices (2009)
- U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement
More than 1,000 cities in the U.S. have signed on to the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, pledging to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Twenty-seven cities in Ohio have signed, 17 of which are in Northeast Ohio. Is your hometown one of them?Akron Garfield Heights Stow Alliance Kent Walton Hills Brooklyn North Olmstead Warren Canton Parma Westlake Cleveland Rittman Willoughby Hills Cleveland Heights South Euclid
- U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement Climate Action Handbook - by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability with support from the City of Seattle and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The Guide is separated into three sections (policies, actions and tools, best practices and resources) that offer simple steps to advance climate protection in your city.
- Climate Protection Manual for Cities by Natural Capitalism Solutions
This is a comprehensive manual (chock full of case studies and resources) developed to help cities reduce greenhouse gas emissions. - KnowledgeBase for Best Practices by SustainLane Government
SustainLane's open-source knowledge base speeds discovery, research and networking with more than 120 best practice documents and a secure directory of participating government officials from over 500 cities, counties and states. - Best Practices of the C40 Cities -Climate Leadership Group
In October 2005, representatives of 18 leading world cities met in London to discuss joining forces to tackle global warming and climate change. The representatives saw the need for action and cooperation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pledged to work together towards achieving that goal. These are their success stories. - Best Practices for Emissions Reduction by Project 2 Degrees
Around the world, cities are gaining ground in the fight to slow and reduce their GHG emissions. This page contains a collection of case studies that detail real-life success stories and provide useful insights and practical information which will aid your city in the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. - ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability Success Stories
Local governments have been busy transforming the potential catastrophe of global warming into positive, profitable solutions. This page highlights the latest ways local governments are taking the lead on climate protection and sustainability. Cleveland is featured as a success story here! - Resources for Local Governments from Seattle.gov
The City of Seattle is only one of many local governments that are already well underway with climate protection actions, plans and policies. Here they’ve gathered some examples that may be helpful to other local governments that are just getting started.
