A series of recent actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to roll back environmental regulations includes plans to eliminate all limits on greenhouse gases from coal and gas-fired power plants and to rescind the 2009 finding that planet-heating gases, like carbon dioxide, pose a real threat to human health.

These rollbacks also come on the heels of recent proposals from the European Union, Australia and Canada to relax rules related to emissions and environmental protections.

The overwhelming international scientific consensus is that if we are to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide need to fall by about 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net-zero around 2050. Unfortunately, current commitments from the international community through the Paris Agreement fall far short of reaching those goals.

Despite the grim reality of weakened national ambition, cities continue to lead with bold and transformative climate action.

Global cities are increasingly working collaboratively toward achieving carbon neutrality through innovative solutions and policy approaches that are replicable and scalable worldwide. Some have even set their sights on becoming climate-positive by removing carbon from the atmosphere to undo past emissions.

New York City, which has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent within the next........

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