Local environmental leaders respond to Trump's climate policy

Changes to federal climate policy present unique challenges to those pursuing local environmental action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At Northwestern, the majority of on-site emissions come from the Central Utility Plant, a natural-gas-fueled plant in the center of Northwestern heats and cools university buildings. (Cate Bouvet/ION)

For as long as they've been a student at Northwestern, third-year Rocco Cappelletti has air-dried their clothes, instead of using a machine dryer that consumes high levels of energy and emits greenhouse gases. 

Cappelletti is the president of the Green House, Northwestern’s special interest environmental residential group and a part of the ASG sustainability committee. In the face of rapidly shifting attitudes toward climate change and uncertain environmental policies, they balance their time between making change at an individual and local level, weighing what feels worthwhile to them. 

Despite their efforts, Cappelletti said they haven't felt able to make systematic environmental changes at Northwestern and worries that by the time the effects of Trump's environmental policies are understood, it will be too late to reverse them. 

“As a part of a grassroots organization, it's going to be more difficult to have conversations with higher-up powers who are now entrenched in this new era of anti-environmentalism,” Cappelletti said. “It's going to be an uphill battle with this administration.”

However, Cappelletti said they’re not willing to stop fighting—through personal and organized campus environmental engagements—against President Donald Trump’s policies favoring fossil fuels. 

In Trump's first week in office, he declared a national energy emergency, which halted some federal funding to programs that support energy efficiency in infrastructure. Trump has also withdrawn from the Paris Accord and has made several attempts to revive America's coal industry. Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels when burned, accounting for roughly 40 percent of all industrial carbon dioxide emissions, the main driver of global warming. These executive orders open up new leases for mining coal on federal land and loosen emission standards for coal plants. 

Trump’s executive actions accompany historically high global temperatures. In 2024, the accumulation of greenhouse gas emissions caused the Earth to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius increase threshold, which, if sustained, will lead to a rise in extreme weather events, according to a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 

Northwestern is Evanston’s largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The university emitted almost 180,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2022, according to the most recently published annual emission report from sustainNU. That’s enough to power over 65% of all the homes in Evanston for a year. 

The majority of Northwestern’s on-site greenhouse gas emissions are in the form of carbon dioxide from the Central Utility Plant, a natural-gas-fueled plant in the center of campus that heats and cools university buildings. Director of sustainNU Noel Davis said the plant requires modernization to reduce its carbon emissions.

Northwestern has committed to a 30% reduction in direct greenhouse gas emissions and indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. 

“It's really important to hold the university and city accountable to the goals that they’ve set in the past,” said Terra Workman, a member of Fossil Free, a student group on campus dedicated to divestment and putting a halt to emissions on campus.

Davis said recent threats to make cuts to the Inflation Reduction Act, which has spurred investment in building decarbonization projects and clean energy technology, could possibly make getting to net-zero in carbon emissions more expensive for the university. 

“I think they might make things harder for us,” Davis said. “They don't change our resolve to achieve the sustainability goals that we set out in the start.” 

Illinois is a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Ryan Wilmington, a policy and communication associate at Illinois Green Alliance, said. Since 2005, Illinois has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 25%, becoming one of the top U.S. states in reducing emissions, he added. Wilmington works with policymakers, building owners and engineers in advancing decarbonization projects.   

“The administration is just trying to create chaos and discouragement in the green movement,” Wilmington said. “But state and local leadership means a lot and I don’t think we have a shortage of leaders here who really care about the environment. I think a lot of people will step up and meet the moment.” 

At Northwestern, students are among the leaders committed to environmental change. 

Fossil Free supported the passage of the Evanston Healthy Building Ordinance, which requires buildings over 20,000 square feet to significantly reduce emissions. After several months of public advocacy and conversation with city council members by Fossil Free, the ordinance was adopted on March 12. 

The Healthy Building Ordinance furthers the Climate Action and Resilience Plan, Evanston’s guiding principles towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The plan establishes environmental performance standards for buildings, which account for 80% of Evanston’s emissions, according to the city. 

“We know that buildings contribute to 30% of the greenhouse gasses in Illinois, so they’re a significant chunk of that puzzle that we need to solve,” Wilmington said. “Policies like the Healthy Building Ordinance are really important, especially in Evanston, where it’s even more of a slice of the pie.” 

Davis said sustainNU’s goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 align with Evanstons’ Carbon Action Plan and the intent of the Healthy Building Ordinance. 

Northwestern's more than 20 environmentally focused clubs, which often collaborate, are spearheading local change, said Cappelletti. Regardless of national politics, Cappelletti and Boyle said their determination won’t waver. 

“I think national issues are important, especially to institutions like Northwestern. But from the perspective of Fossil Free, it’s really about local climate action,”  Boyle said. “It’s up to us to start at a level where we can really make an impact.”