These Mayors Say Climate Is a Kitchen-Table Issue

In the months since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, federal policy has shifted away from climate mitigation and renewable energy investment. A group of mayors from around the country are making the case that climate action is essential to addressing something that’s top of mind for Americans: affordability.

Mayors from cities in Tennessee, Nebraska, Idaho, Michigan and Illinois are among the members of a Climate, Affordability and Prosperity Working Group led by the bipartisan nonprofit Climate Mayors. They aim to highlight and share programs in their communities that lower costs and improve quality of life for residents by mitigating warming impacts.

“It was important that we help link climate action with kitchen-table issues that mayors are dealing with when they’re thinking about ensuring their cities are vibrant, with opportunity today and into the future,” says the group’s vice-chair, Boise, Idaho, Mayor Lauren McLean.

Nearly half of all Americans are “extremely” or “very” sure warming is real, but climate was last among 10 issues important to voters in a 2024 pre-election Pew Research Center survey. An overwhelming majority were most concerned about the economy, and events since January have only intensified their worries.

For McLean and her colleagues, the paths forward for both issues are intertwined.

City of Trees

Mayors in the working group share the goal of making life more affordable for their residents, McLean says. Her city, the largest and fastest growing in the state, faces risks and costs from heat, drought and wildfire. In recent years, it has experienced the hottest summers since recordkeeping began, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees on 20 days or more.

McLean has been mayor since 2020. That year, the city launched a “city of trees” challenge, setting a goal of planting a forest seedling for every resident by 2030. It reached the goal in spring 2024 with the planting of the 235,000th seedling.

The tree canopy saves residences $300,000 in energy costs and provides more than $3 million in air quality benefits each year, McLean says. The city is targeting neighborhoods that could still be considered “shade deserts” for more tree planting, using heat mapping to identify them.

Zoning reform is another priority for McLean. Last year, the Boise City Council unanimously approved an updated zoning code. Among other changes, it allows for greater density along transit corridors and increases requirements for bicycle parking. These create possibilities for reducing transportation costs as well as emissions.

Increasing the housing supply and making it accessible to transit and jobs are “making life better” solutions as well as climate solutions, McLean says. The point of the working group is for mayors to talk through things they are doing that meet both criteria, learn from one another, and imagine what more could be done.

Jobs and Resilience

In February, Lincoln, Neb., Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird’s office announced a “Future-Ready Workforce” initiative offering scholarships for training that can help the city align job growth with a transition to clean energy. Interest accrued from American Rescue Plan funds will be used to pay for scholarships for training electricians; automotive technicians; and heating, ventilation and air conditioning technicians. The program will cover 100 percent of the costs of apprenticeships and training programs for these careers.

Aligning economic development and “climate realities” is one of the primary goals of Lincoln’s climate action plan. Nebraska has 39 available workers for every 100 open jobs, Baird said at a press briefing on the goals for the working group. This exacerbates the challenges in recovering from climate events such as the tornado that damaged homes and businesses in Lincoln in 2024, or flooding it anticipates from a rise in heavy-precipitation days.

Knoxville, Tenn., includes workforce development in its urban forest master plan. The city has set a goal of increasing tree canopy to 40 percent by 2040, in pursuit of benefits that include reducing heat stress, flooding risk and air pollution as well as safety and better learning environments at its schools.

The city has provided landscaper training and certification to help develop the workforce it needs to execute its plan and ensure trees survive well enough for their potential benefits to become reality.

Navigating Federal Shifts

Through its Greencorps program, the city of Chicago offers green job training to residents with barriers to employment, including criminal records — a type of program that has come under fire from the Trump administration in its push against diversity, equity and inclusion. City, state and private partners collaborate to provide learning opportunities and job placement for careers that include ecological restoration and green infrastructure.

This opens the door for members of historically disinvested communities to share in economic benefits from the city’s work to build a green economy. The city is also supporting energy-efficiency upgrades and solar panel installation in these communities to bring down their utility costs, says Mayor Brandon Johnson, a member of the working group.

Red and blue cities alike have made sustainability pledges based on funds promised to them by the federal government through the Inflation Reduction Act. Boise residents have asked McLean what she will do if grant funds are held back.

She points to the 82 percent approval rate for a 2021 clean water and climate action bond as evidence that her community sees the connections between resilience, affordability and quality of life. If funds don’t come at expected levels, she’s confident that philanthropy and partnerships with residents can fill gaps.

Working people are feeling anxiety and uncertainty amid a flurry of federal policy shifts.

“This is really about our economy,” said Johnson of the working group. “And already, this is an opportunity for Climate Mayors to provide some ease and a pathway forward to long-term sustainability.”