ProGov21 Policy Library

A Decade of Successes Against Fossil Fuel Export Projects in Cascadia

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level State

State(s) Oregon, Washington

Source Sightline Institute

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

Since 2012, fossil fuel companies have devised more than 50 projects to export coal, oil, or gas from Cascadia's coast. Thanks to local opposition, 40 of those projects have been canceled, averting 1,717 million metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions. This report calls on...

Net Zero Energy Roadmap for the City of Burlington, Vermont

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) Vermont

Source City of Burlington, Vermont

Policy Areas Community Development, Energy, Transportation & Mobility

Pollution and energy inefficiency are exacerbating the global climate crisis, but cities can pass local policies to address these issues. The City of Burlington, Vermont launched the net-zero-energy program in 2018 to eliminate fossil fuel use by the ground transportation and heating...

2006 Boulder Carbon Tax Ordinance 7483

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2006

Level City or Town

State(s) Colorado

Source City Council of the City of Boulder

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement

This ordinance imposes the Climate Action Plan Tax as an excise tax upon persons consuming electricity as residential, commercial, or industrial customers. The tax shall be imposed upon the basis of each customer’s consumption of electricity measured in Kilowatt/Hours. The purpose...

The Path to Carbon Dioxide-Free Power: Switching to Clean Energy in the Utility Sector

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2003

Level National

State(s) All States

Source Tellus Institute

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

This report explores a range of national policies to increase energy efficiency, accelerate the adoption of renewable energy technologies and shift energy use to more efficient power systems while reducing the electricity bills of consumers and businesses. The policies considered...

2010 King County Ordinance 16927 Energy Efficiency and Emissions Reduction

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2010

Level County

State(s) Washington

Source St. Paul City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces, Energy

This ordinance requires developers of county capital improvement projects to submit a strategic energy-efficiency and greenhouse gas emission reduction plan that includes options for reducing emissions; improving energy efficiency; identifying financial incentives for achieving energy...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Chicago: Emissions Inventories and Reduction Strategies for Chicago and its Metropolitan Region

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2010

Level City or Town

State(s) Illinois

Source Center for Neighborhood Technology

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Energy, Transportation & Mobility

This report compiles 33 potential emissions reduction strategies that, when implemented together, can help Chicago meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. The area with the largest potential for reduction is energy use in buildings...

Re-Thinking the Urban Freeway: Options for Rebuilding, Replacing, Altering or Otherwise Addressing Aging Freeways

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2013

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development, Public Spaces, Transportation & Mobility

Urban freeways create barriers to movement within cities, institutionalize social inequities, contribute to environmental degradation, and encourage suburban sprawl. As urban freeways approach the end of their useful lives, decisions on the fate of an individual freeway will be place...

Increasing Energy Efficiency: Legal Techniques and Impediments

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2011

Level City or Town, County, National, State

State(s) All States

Source New York Law Journal

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources

Increasing energy efficiency is the most important action that can be taken to combat climate change. There are currently an abundance of legal techniques available at the federal, state and municipal levels that cumulatively could accomplish a great deal in cutting energy use, lowering...

Water Main Geothermal: Could Existing Water Pipes Replace Dirty Energy Utilities?

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Housing

Water main geothermal combines the efficiency and technical capability of ground-source geothermal in cold climates with costs competitive to fossil gas furnaces. This report shows that water main geothermal could provide a viable, cost-effective alternative to traditional home heating...

The Built Environment, Climate Change, and Health: Opportunities for Co-Benefits

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2008

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source SPARCC

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health, Transportation & Mobility

The built environment, climate change, and public health are closely connected; human-generated greenhouse gases derive from aspects of the built environment such as transportation systems and infrastructure, building construction and operation, and land-use planning. Transportation...

Promoting Energy Efficiency with ENERGY STAR

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2011

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source U.S. Department of Energy

Policy Areas Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces

Municipal buildings and infrastructure present opportunities for public savings through energy efficiency improvements. This guide outlines best practices for energy efficiency benchmarking and emphasizes the benefits of the Department of Energy's ENERGY STAR program, which helps...

Driving Down Emissions

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Smart Growth America

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Transportation & Mobility

Many communities face increasing congestion and emissions due to a dependency on single-occupancy vehicles. Progressive land use policies integrate complete street standards into zoning laws and street design to improve efficiency, sustainability, and accessibility.This report proposes...

Climate Change Litigation After Supreme Court Ruling in American Electric Power v. Connecticut

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2011

Level Other Boards and Agencies

State(s) All States

Source Deutsche Bank Group

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources

This report examines the U.S. Supreme Court's 2011 decision in "American Electric Power v. Connecticut," which dealt with common law claims against power plants for greenhouse gas emissions. The court ruled that these disputes are not appropriate for judicial intervention due to the...

Insights into Building Performance Standards in the Northeast Region

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2024

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania

Source Acadia Center

Policy Areas Energy, Environment & Natural Resources

Buildings are one of the top emitters of greenhouse gas emissions. Communities should implement Building Performance Standards (BPS) to enhance energy efficiency and reduce emissions in commercial and multifamily buildings. BPS are linked to broader climate goals and environmental...

2004 Matanuska-Susitna Borough Ordinance 04-175 Regulating Use of Coal Bed Methane

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2004

Level County

State(s) Alaska

Source Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

This ordinance establishes an areawide conditional use permit for coal bed methane exploration and development. An entity that wants to install and operate coal bed methane facilities must have its permit application approved. This ordinance outlines the permit application process...

Estimating Policy Effects on Reduced Vehicle Travel in Hawaii: A Technical Guide

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level State

State(s) Hawaii

Source State Smart Transportation Initiative

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Transportation & Mobility

This report compares estimates of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in Hawaii under current conditions versus VMT when policies are implemented to manage travel demand. These policies include transportation demand management (employer-based programs that encourage employees to carpool,...

Driving Down Emissions: Transportation, Land Use, and Climate Change

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, State

State(s) All States

Source Smart Growth America

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development, Housing, Health, Transportation & Mobility

Transportation accounts for the largest share of carbon emissions in the U.S. Car-oriented land use and community design play a significant role in the nation’s transportation emissions; communities are built in a way that makes it difficult and unsafe to access daily needs outside...

Pathways to 100: An Energy Supply Transformation Primer for U.S. Cities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Meister Consultants Group

Policy Areas Energy, Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources

Pathways to 100 provides a high-level map of pathways for municipalities seeking to transform their energy supply, outlining strategies for both municipal operations and for all energy users within municipal limits. The document is organized around a three-step process that cities...

Initiative Ordinance JJJ: Affordable and Transit-Oriented Housing Policies for the City of Los Angeles

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Los Angeles Department of Public Health

Policy Areas Housing, Health, Transportation & Mobility

Initiative Ordinance JJJ (Measure JJJ) is a ballot initiative with two provisions intended to increase the production of affordable housing in the City of Los Angeles: the “Transit-Oriented Communities Affordable Housing Overlay” provision which would allow housing developers to build...

Effects of Parking Provision on Automobile Use in Cities: Inferring Causality

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source State Smart Transportation Initiative

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Transportation & Mobility

Many cities include minimum parking requirements in their zoning codes and provide ample parking for public use. However, parking is costly to provide and encourages increased automobile use, which is linked to traffic congestion, environmental degradation, and negative health and...

Global Scenarios for the Century Ahead: Searching for Sustainability

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2010

Level State, National

State(s) All States

Source Tellus Institute

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health, Food

This report explores the challenge of sustainability by considering four different scenarios that may emerge in the future: Market Forces (in which policy prioritizes economic growth and free trade), Policy Reform (which assumes a large-scale implementation of reform policies aimed...

A Green New Deal for City and Suburban Transportation

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level National

State(s) All States

Source Smart Growth America

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Public Safety, Transportation & Mobility

The majority of federal transportation spending incentivizes road-building, leaving limited funds available for road repair and more sustainable modes like transit, walking, and biking. Such spending encourages more driving and increased emissions, due to limited investments in low-carbon...

American Cities: Climate Challenge

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Bloomberg

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Energy

This report showcases a variety of different pathways cities are taking to reach the Paris Agreement climate goals. These pathways and related actions focus on reducing resource consumption, shifting to cleaner sources of energy, and transforming our communities for deep long-lasting...

Transit Oriented Development and The Potential for VMT-related Greenhouse Gas Emissions Growth Reduction

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2010

Level City or Town

State(s) Illinois

Source Center for Transit-Oriented Development

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Transportation & Mobility

This report uses the Housing and Transportation Affordability Model to examine the differences in transportation demand and GHG emissions between households in transit zones and other households and finds that by living in a central city near transit, household can reduce emissions...

Delivering Opportunity: How Electric Buses and Trucks Can Create Jobs and Improve Public Health in California

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town, County, Other Boards and Agencies

State(s) California

Source The Greenlining Institute

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Health

This report explores electric trucks and buses, their emissions, and the potential for job opportunities in the expanding electric heavy-duty vehicle market. The report highlights California as a leader in policies and investments to drive the adoption of electric trucks and buses....

ProGov21 Policy Library

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