Questions for consideration

• Would the advantages of a new adaptation finance goal outweigh its drawbacks?
• How can a focus on means of implementation in the GGA negotiations be channeled most effectively to increase the provision of adaptation finance?
• Should Parties decide to move forward with a new adaptation finance goal, where could those discussions be most usefully pursued?

The post Issues and Options: Centering Adaptation Finance at COP30 appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

That question guided the Arizona Sustainable Economic Development Learning Lab, a first-of-its-kind pilot convened by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) in partnership with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and Prosperity Strategies.  

This innovative Learning Lab defines sustainable economic development practices as those that build future social, economic, and environmental needs into solutions for present challenges and opportunities. 

The Lab equipped economic development professionals –defined broadly as community, business, and non-profit leaders and other stakeholders involved in local and regional economic development- with practical tools, case studies, and networks to build resilience into local economies—advancing projects that strengthen prosperity while addressing Arizona’s heat, drought, and flooding challenges. 

Over several months, 35 participants representing cities, towns, Tribal nations, nonprofits, small businesses, utilities, and academic institutions completed a hands-on curriculum organized around four key elements: knowledge, resources, networks, and practice. Many participants then developed a capstone project to field-test lessons learned and model locally-driven approaches to sustainable economic development. 

The Solutions Showcase, hosted at the Flinn Foundation in Phoenix on Tuesday, Oct. 14th , marked the culmination of this pilot. Thirteen innovative projects highlighted the creativity and determination of Arizona’s local leaders, from community gardens in Yuma that double as heat refuges and workforce pipelines for the agricultural sector, to a sustainability navigator designed to help small businesses overcome barriers to adopting greener practices. Other projects explored how communities can build economic diversity in rural areas historically dependent on single industries, such as mining or tourism. See the full list of capstone projects below.

Across these efforts, common themes emerged: the need for economic diversification, expanded workforce pathways, stronger community branding, and increased capacity for small businesses. Many participants emphasized the potential of Arizona’s natural areas—not just as ecological assets, but as engines for heat and flood resilience, food access, education, and local tourism. Participants also underscored the importance of youth leadership, cross-sector collaboration, and community-driven design to ensure solutions are both inclusive and durable. 

The energy in the room at the Showcase reflected a genuine sense of camaraderie and shared purpose. Participants exchanged lessons learned, offered new partnerships, and even began coordinating to advocate jointly for policy and funding solutions. 

As C2ES and partners look ahead, the goal is to scale this model nationally, helping regions across the country define and implement what sustainable economic development means amidst growing climate and energy challenges. In Arizona, one thing is clear: communities are not waiting for perfect conditions. They’re turning insight into action, working together to build economies that can thrive in the face of increasing climate risks and uncertainties. 

The pilot Learning Lab is generously supported by the Flinn Foundation and 18 additional partners across Arizona. 

Local Innovation in Action: Arizona’s Sustainable Economic Development Projects

The Solutions Showcase featured 13 capstone projects that embody what sustainable, climate-smart economic development looks like across Arizona’s diverse communities:

1. Defining Sustainability in the Verde Valley – Verde Valley Regional Economic Organization
   Advancing small business loans and regional branding to diversify beyond tourism and create local jobs while protecting natural assets like the Verde River.
2. Ecotourism and Hospitality in Superior – Rebuild Superior and Superior Enterprise Center
   Building a sustainable tourism strategy to complement mining heritage, leveraging local youth engagement and natural assets such as the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
3. Growing Forward Garden Project – Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation
   Launching Yuma’s first community garden to improve food access, provide educational opportunities, and connect youth to agriculture careers.
4. Arizona Sustainability Navigator – Collaboration for Good, City of Surprise, and City of Phoenix
   Creating a one-stop digital hub to help small businesses and nonprofits access sustainability tools, grants, and technical assistance.
5. From Roots to Renewables – 7SkyLine
   Linking food and energy resilience by developing renewable energy career pathways and community garden programs for Tribal youth.
6. Sustainability Demonstration Garden – Flinn Foundation
   Transforming campus space into a living laboratory for urban heat mitigation through tree planting, design innovation, and public education.
7. Coal Transition Strategies for Rural Communities – Salt River Project and Arizona Public Service
   Developing a framework to repurpose decommissioned coal plant assets and retrain the workforce for clean energy and data center jobs.
8. Workforce Housing Revitalization in Historic Miami – PinDrop Trailers
   Piloting adaptive reuse of vacant properties to create affordable workforce housing in a flood-impacted rural community.
9. Retention Low-Impact Exchange (LID) Plan – City of Mesa
   Testing green infrastructure incentives to make small infill development more feasible while improving stormwater management and urban cooling.
10. Heritage Resources Management Degree Program – Arizona State Parks & Trails and State Historic Preservation Office
    Designing a new degree program to build workforce capacity in heritage conservation as a form of sustainable development.
11. Solar Energy for Economic Development – Solar United Neighbors
    Exploring community solar models to expand access, strengthen energy reliability, and support economic diversification in Phoenix and beyond.
12. Public Opinion Research Insights Tool – Center for the Future of Arizona
    Developing a tool to help developers and local governments anticipate public sentiment toward renewable energy and sustainability projects.
13. Resiliency Planning for Casa Grande Businesses – City of Casa Grande
    Creating a guide to help small businesses prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related disruptions.

The post Turning Insight into Action: Advancing Sustainable Economic Development Across Arizona appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

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Join C2ES for a webinar that will examine how the enhanced transparency framework under the Paris Agreement can be leveraged to raise climate ambition and accelerate climate action. We will focus in particular on how to make best use of the presentations each country must make every two years on progress toward achieving their climate targets.

The conversation will be moderated by C2ES Vice President for International Strategies Kaveh Guilanpour.

We have recently published a paper on this topic, accessible here.

The post Leveraging the Paris Agreement’s enhanced transparency framework to enhance ambition and accelerate implementation appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

September 30, 2025

Austin–San Antonio Region Selected for the Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator 

National initiative expands to Texas amid growing extreme weather events 

WASHINGTON—The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) today announced that the Austin–San Antonio region has been selected as its next hub for the Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator (Accelerator). The Accelerator, already making an impact in Colorado’s North Front Range and Washington’s South-Central Puget Sound, is a two-year regionally focused initiative that brings together local and Tribal governments, businesses, nonprofits, academics, and community leaders to safeguard communities and strengthen economic stability in the face of climate threats. 

This announcement comes as Texas continues to experience an increase in extreme weather events—from winter storms to record-breaking heat waves and devastating flash flooding. The Accelerator aims to create a structured environment where regional stakeholders can share data, align existing efforts and resources, and design innovative solutions that protect residents and safeguard critical infrastructure. The program’s track record in other regions has shown that bringing all voices to the table—from city planners to business owners and neighborhood advocates— leads to solutions that are both practical and inclusive.  

“We are the fastest growing region in the United States and live in the state with one of the highest number of federally declared disasters per year,” said Laura Patiño, Chief Resilience Officer at the City of San Antonio. “Yet, there is a strong culture for collaboration that can be leveraged to ensure we are improving quality of life for residents in the region for years to come.” 

 “The most common hazards experienced in the Austin and San Antonio area include extreme heat, wildfire, drought, flooding, and severe winter storms. These interconnected hazards impact our cities while placing the greatest strain on vulnerable residents and communities,” said Zach Baumer, Director of the City of Austin’s Office of Climate Action and Resilience. “As our region continues to grow rapidly, these climate hazards affect our surrounding counties as well. A collective, holistic approach is needed to protect both our quality of life and vibrant ecosystems that make this region unique.” 

“Research demonstrates Central Texas is in desperate need of community-based resilience planning efforts,” said Thomas Ptak, Associate Professor at Texas State University. “While large urban areas are well resourced and have established robust climate policies and strategies, residents located in peri-urban areas and smaller cities such as San Marcos are increasingly vulnerable due to a lack of resources and formal plans to develop and enhance resiliency.” 

Juan Rodriguez Mora from the Del Valle Community Coalition emphasized that “the Del Valle area is one of the fastest growing regions – both population and economic activity – in Central Texas. We strive to engage major employers to identify hazards together and enact programs and initiatives that can make a significant impact.”  

“The Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute is working to develop neighborhood-based Resilience Hubs around the state, but we are not currently working with private sector partners in the Austin/San Antonio region. There is innovation in the region that could be harnessed by the opportunity to bring the private sector in through the Accelerator’s multi-stakeholder effort,” said Margo Weisz, Executive Director of the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute. 

“As fire chief in one of the fastest-growing regions in Texas, I’ve seen firsthand how extreme weather—including wildfires, flooding and winter storms—can threaten lives, damage infrastructure and disrupt the very fabric of our communities,” said Nick Perkins, fire chief of Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2. “The Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator is the kind of bold, collaborative effort we need to prepare for tomorrow while protecting today. I’m proud to support this initiative and committed to working with our partners to strengthen resilience across Central Texas.” 

“2025 is already a historic year for climate risks, beginning with the LA Fires, followed by devastating floods in Central Texas, and continuing through a summer of extreme heat, wildfires, smoke, and flooding. C2ES is grateful to support resilience building and cross-sector solutions on the ground in vulnerable regions across the United States,” said Libby Zemaitis, Senior Manager of Resilience Programs and Policy at C2ES. “Our approach empowers leaders to envision and coordinate joint action toward a resilient future as they navigate increasing climate risks and a shifting resource environment.” 

C2ES selected the Austin–San Antonio Region through a competitive process after communities and partners from across the United States applied to host the Accelerator. Applicants from Central Texas represented local governments, nonprofit organizations, private business, and universities – a diverse base of stakeholders that will grow once the Accelerator is underway. Over the next two years in Central Texas, the Accelerator will convene a series of workshops and provide flexible support to local leaders and cross-sector partners to build and advance a regional roadmap of high-impact resilience actions to locally identified climate hazards. Participants will also contribute to public policy priorities and join a growing national network of communities driving resilience forward.  

C2ES leverages its track record of effective business engagement to bring more private sector leaders to the table. For example, leaders from the electric utility, energy, engineering, finance, healthcare, technology, and telecommunication sectors participated in the Accelerator pilot in Colorado’s North Front Range, which C2ES launched in 2023. The effort built a regional roadmap of wildfire and heat resilience strategies, advanced resilience hubs and microgrids, and supported a new heat-focused public-private partnership between AT&T and the City of Longmont.  

The Accelerator is designed to be a catalyst for lasting impact, ensuring that planning efforts translate into tangible projects and measurable improvements in community safety and economic stability. 

For more information about the Accelerator and its work in other regions, including toolkits and other resources, visit https://www.c2es.org/building-climate-resilience/climate-resilient-communities-accelerator/.  

To express interest in participating in the Austin-San Antonio Accelerator, please contact Libby Zemaitis at zemaitise@c2es.org. 

To speak with a C2ES expert, contact Allison Dennis at press@c2es.org.  

The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to secure a safe and stable climate by accelerating the global transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and a thriving, just, and resilient economy. 

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C2ES Urges Against EPA Rescission of GHG Endangerment Finding and Vehicle Pollution Standards  

Highlights indisputable and growing body of science on severity and costs of climate impacts, US transportation sector emissions, and economic harm of regulatory uncertainty 

WASHINGTON—Today, C2ES submitted comments on EPA’s proposed rescission of the Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding and the agency’s Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards, urging the agency against the rollback. C2ES concludes that repealing standards would cost Americans billions of dollars in climate damage, lost health benefits, and lost vehicle ownership-related savings per EPA’s own previous analysis. The comments also outline severe economic and public health risks associated with EPA’s proposed action.

Additionally, the comments emphasize the significance of U.S. emissions from the transportation sector under the Clean Air Act, which require smart, well-designed regulation, contrary to EPA’s justification of the proposed rescission.

To speak with a C2ES expert about the comments, contact Tim Carroll at press@c2es.org.

C2ES experts developed these comments with input from the private sector and additional external partners. In the comments, C2ES experts highlight the indisputable science and evidence of human-induced climate change and its negative impacts, a body of data that has only grown in size and credibility since the endangerment finding was issued in 2009. The experts also note that the agency’s proposal ignores historical precedent and the Clean Air Act’s own directive to regulate sources that contribute to air pollution, such as vehicle tailpipe emissions.

C2ES concludes by warning EPA of the risks to U.S. economic and national security and the health and wellbeing of Americans:

“Our nation’s economic well-being and security depend on a safe and stable climate. By ignoring that reality, EPA has abdicated its responsibility to protect the public health and welfare—and taken steps that, if finalized, will lead to a less prosperous America. C2ES calls on EPA to continue its mandated role in safeguarding the public’s wellbeing by upholding the Endangerment Finding and maintaining greenhouse gas vehicle standards under CAA section 202(a). Repeal would be scientifically unfounded, legally unjustified, economically harmful, and ethically indefensible.”

The comments also state:

“Worsening air quality from uncontrolled wildfires impacts respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland have had to be fallowed in the Southwest due to drought, historic flooding—from Texas to Kentucky to Vermont—and hurricanes and tropical storms along the Gulf Coast and Eastern seaboard have led to lives cut short, millions of dollars of lost wages, and trillions of dollars of damage to property and the environment.

“Nationwide, home insurance rates are increasing 8.7 percent faster than the rate of inflation, with homeowners in high climate-risk regions like southern California and Florida seeing much steeper rate hikes, or being unable to acquire home insurance at all. These costs demonstrate that a finding of endangerment for GHGs is warranted, and is even more relevant today than it was when the Finding was made in 2009.” 

The comments go on to argue rescission would harm U.S. competitiveness and manufacturing leadership.

U.S. greenhouse gas vehicle standards are not just a regulatory backstop for greenhouse gas emissions; they are also a strategic enabler of U.S. automaker competitiveness:

“Retreating now would signal regulatory back-pedaling just as peers and competitors worldwide are consolidating advantages in advanced batteries, electric drivetrains, and high-efficiency internal combustion engine (ICE) components, raising the risk that domestic suppliers miss scale economies, export opportunities, and workforce development gains captured by jurisdictions with clearer standards.”

Read the full comments from C2ES here. ​​​​​​​

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These comments were submitted on September 19, 2025. 

Key Points

• Scientific analysis and direct observation demonstrate that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Endangerment Finding is even more valid today than it was in 2009.
• The recently released Department of Energy Climate Working Group report was not prepared in accordance with scientific standards for the federal government and cannot be used to justify a rescission of the Endangerment Finding.
• Growing concentrations of greenhouse gases are directly impacting American’s health and welfare by increasing the severity and cost of climate impacts experienced by communities around the United States.
• Reducing emissions from the U.S. transportation sector—the largest domestic emitter of greenhouse gases—is within the EPA’s authority to regulate under the Clean Air Act and will deliver hundreds of billions of dollars in net economic benefits by measurably reducing the impacts of climate change.
• Rescission of the Endangerment Finding would be costly for stakeholders—including automakers, technology developers, and state and local governments—who have developed reliance interests around the current greenhouse gas regulatory framework that has been law for over 15 years.
• Based on its historical emissions and its dominant role in the global economy, the United States has both an obligation and a strategic imperative to act conscientiously today by minimizing future greenhouse gas pollution. A safe and stable climate underpins U.S. economic wellbeing and national security.

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• A Vision for the 2025-2030 Action Agenda
  https://www.c2es.org/document/a-vision-for-the-2025-2030-action-agenda/ 
• Delivering on the Targets and Signals from the First Global Stocktake, July 2025
  https://www.c2es.org/document/delivering-on-the-targets-and-signals-from-the-first-global-stocktake/
• Achieving a More Effective UNFCCC Process, July 2025
  https://www.c2es.org/document/achieving-a-more-effective-unfccc-process/
• Capitalizing On Transparency to Accelerate Climate Action, April 2025
  https://www.c2es.org/document/capitalizing-on-transparency-to-accelerate-climate-action-discussion-paper/

About the event

​This discussion will explore how utilizing the framework of the outcome of the first global stocktake (GST1) can: help (i) ground the GCAA in taking forward collectively agreed priorities; and (ii) ensure enhanced international cooperation for implementation under the UNFCCC up to 2030 and beyond.

​In light of submissions received in response to the call for input by the Climate High Level Champions (CHLC) on views for the development of a five-year plan for the GCAA, speakers will consider how a 2030 vision for the GCAA could:

• implement and build on the vision the incoming COP30 Presidency set out in its 4th Letter
• strengthen cooperation between Parties and non-Party stakeholders, including through multilateral organizations participating in the GCAA and formal UNFCCC processes, and
• empower international cooperative initiatives to support the achievement of GST1 outcomes, target tracking, and communication of collective progress toward GST targets, increasing the accountability of GST-aligned voluntary action to 2030.

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