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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Climate Alliance today released a new resource — Climate and Land Use Planning: A Policy Guide for U.S. States and Territories — to help states better understand how to use and manage lands in ways that reduce climate pollution and build greater resilience to climate impacts.
“Land use planning is a powerful tool to fight climate change while improving Americans’ quality of life, housing affordability, job accessibility, energy siting and so much more,” said Alliance Managing Director Taryn Finnessey. “This guide will help states and territories advance effective land use strategies that can deliver significant benefits to communities and ecosystems nationwide.”
Land use planning — how lands are used and managed — can be a critical tool for states and territories to slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and better prevent, reduce, withstand, and recover from climate-related impacts. Given the complex and interdisciplinary nature of land use policy, the guide highlights three foundational principles for climate-aligned land use planning by states. These include reducing GHG emissions, sequestering carbon, and improving climate resilience; protecting natural and working lands (NWL); and transforming systems to build social equity, with a focus on centering communities most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
The guide outlines a suite of policies states and territories can use to advance their climate goals through land use planning, such as location-efficient development policies, climate-resilient development policies, and policies that promote healthy and resilient NWL. It also offers governance strategies to help states undertake cross-sectoral and intergovernmental planning, ensure data-driven planning and decision-making, and foster meaningful engagement with Tribes, communities, businesses, and other stakeholders.
Importantly, the guide illustrates how effective land use planning strengthens the well-being of communities and ecosystems in addition to addressing climate change. Among the many co-benefits identified are improvements to housing affordability, job accessibility, clean energy siting, clean drinking water, flood and coastal zone management, reduced wildfire risk exposure, access to open space and recreational opportunities, and an increased focus on equity.
Examples of impactful land use policies, practices, and programs across Alliance states and territories are highlighted throughout the guide, including:
This guide was produced with support from Climate Resilience Consulting and Smart Growth America. It is part of a series of resources and tools released by the Alliance to support state-led climate action across sectors and policy areas, including: Enabling Industrial Decarbonization: A Policy Guidebook for U.S. States; Natural and Working Lands and Climate Action: A State Guide to Enhance the Sector’s Contribution to State and National Climate Goals; The Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases: A Guide for State Officials; The Just and Equitable Transition State Policy Framework and its accompanying Resource Guide; The Governors’ Climate Resilience Playbook; and Building Decarbonization Roadmap, among others.
The guide can be read in full here.
Launched on June 1, 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by President Trump’s initial decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60% of the U.S. economy and 55% of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28% by 2025, 50-52% by 2030, and 61-66% by 2035, all below 2005 levels, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories will continue to advance innovative and impactful climate solutions to grow the economy, create jobs, and protect public health, and have a long record of action and results. In fact, the Alliance reduced its collective net greenhouse gas emissions by 19% between 2005 and 2022, while increasing collective GDP by 30%, and is on track to meet its near-term climate goal by reducing collective GHG emissions 26% below 2005 levels by 2025. The coalition’s states and territories are employing more workers in the clean energy sector, achieving lower levels of dangerous air pollutants, and preparing more effectively for climate impacts and executing more pre-disaster planning than the rest of the country.
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