Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice

We pursue climate action that meets the crisis’s urgency, creates good-quality jobs, benefits disadvantaged communities, and restores U.S. credibility on the global stage.

People with placards and posters on global strike for climate change. Woman speaking in megaphone in front of crowd. (Getty/urbazon)

What We're Doing

Pursuing environmental justice

Investing in equitable climate solutions that address the country’s legacy of environmental racism while working to ensure that all communities have the right to breathe clean air, live free of dangerous levels of toxic pollution, access healthy food, and share the benefits of a prosperous economy

Creating good, clean jobs at home

Laying the groundwork for an urgent transition to a clean energy economy that works for all, creating millions of well-paying jobs with the opportunity to join a union, and improving the quality of life for all Americans in the process

Protecting nature

Addressing the linked climate and biodiversity crises by conserving 30 percent of all U.S. lands and water by 2030 and promoting natural solutions to the climate crisis that benefit all communities

Restoring U.S. climate leadership on the global stage

By taking strong and equitable domestic action, we restore the ability to bring countries together to reduce emissions and help developing countries transition to carbon-neutral economies and adapt to inevitable impacts

Center for American Progress

Boldly Forward

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By the numbers

$177.6B

The cost to U.S. taxpayers from extreme weather events in 2022

National Centers for Environmental Information

139

The number of elected senators and representatives who still deny climate change

CAP, “Climate Deniers in the 117th Congress” (2021).

2°F

Human activity, largely burning fossil fuels, has warmed the planet this much since 1800s

The New York Times, “A Hotter Future Is Certain, Climate Panel Warns. But How Hot Is Up to Us.” (2021).

1M

The number of plant and animal species at risk of extinction around the world today

CAP, “How Much Nature Should America Keep?” (2019).

What You Can Do

Featured work

Latest

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How Inflation Reduction Act Electric Vehicle Incentives Are Driving a U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance Report
Photo shows several cars lined up on both sides of a divider with EV chargers that display orange signs reading

How Inflation Reduction Act Electric Vehicle Incentives Are Driving a U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance

More than a dozen new incentives enacted through the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act have sent investments in EV manufacturing skyrocketing, resulting in more than 84,000 announced jobs in just the first year of implementation.

Leo Banks

Port of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Site Development Article
Photo shows an aerial view of the harbor with an expanse of green grass and trees, flanked by bodies of water on both sides

Port of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Site Development

The Port of Green Bay in Wisconsin has received funding to expand onto the site of a former power plant; the transformation includes the removal of coal piles and other items left from the power plant, and ships will be able to both load and unload cargo at the new port.

LNG Exports Raise Natural Gas Prices for Americans Article
Construction cranes stand silhouetted by the sunset at the Golden Pass LNG terminal.

LNG Exports Raise Natural Gas Prices for Americans

U.S. export terminals for liquified natural gas (LNG) are turning what was once a domestic energy source into an internationally traded commodity, exposing American households and businesses to higher natural gas prices set on a volatile global market.

Chris Martinez

Guide to Rural and Tribal Capacity-Building Programs Report
Joe Biden in front of clouds in sky

Guide to Rural and Tribal Capacity-Building Programs

These 10 federal programs are designed to expand capacity and bridge the gap between federal resources and the rural and Tribal communities that need them most.

Mark Haggerty, Chéri Smith

How States Can Equitably Deliver Home Electrification Rebates Report
Photo shows workers on a roof of a light grey hours against a cloudy sky

How States Can Equitably Deliver Home Electrification Rebates

State and Tribal authorities must prioritize exhausting and distributing more than $4.5 billion through the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate program directly to low- and moderate-income households in order to decarbonize the nation’s most climate-vulnerable, energy-burdened homes.

Jasia Smith

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference Past Event
CAP IDEAS Conference logo

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference

Join the Center for American Progress as we celebrate 20 years of innovative policy solutions and look boldly forward to a progressive future.

Algoma South Breakwater Pier Repair Article

Algoma South Breakwater Pier Repair

This grant provides funding for a project to rebuild the 100-year-old Algoma South Breakwater Pier in Wisconsin.

Sustainable and Reliable: Securing Resources for the Clean Energy Future Report
Used electric vehicle batteries are set up for further testing.

Sustainable and Reliable: Securing Resources for the Clean Energy Future

The United States must act quickly, in concert with its allies, to secure an economically and environmentally sustainable supply chain of battery minerals that benefits and respects the rights of workers and front-line communities.

The Inflation Reduction Act: A Year in Review Testimony

The Inflation Reduction Act: A Year in Review

Trevor Higgins, senior vice president of the Energy and Environment department at the Center for American Progress, filed written testimony before the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services; the testimony is in support of the Inflation Reduction Act in its first year of historic investments in American households and jobs aimed at accelerating the U.S. transition to a clean energy economy.

Trevor Higgins

The Climate Adaptation Imperative: Front-Line Lessons for Global Solutions Past Event
A man holding children walks in the middle of a flooded street.

The Climate Adaptation Imperative: Front-Line Lessons for Global Solutions

In partnership with the Columbia Climate School, join experts from around the world to learn why climate adaptation and resilience planning is an essential part of the response to the climate crisis.

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