Trump Ignores Climate Change – But Cities Like Miami Can Lead the Fight

As the Trump administration slashes national environmental regulations and guts key climate programs, the time has come for local leaders and residents across America to mobilize, build solutions and lead the fight to secure clean air and safe water for all.

We cannot afford to wait. National policy is slow and depends on the occupant of the White House. But local cities and neighborhoods can show the way by launching tangible, effective solutions to combat the increasing threats posed by extreme weather events.

I witnessed this firsthand during my time as a senior official in the U.S. State Department during the Obama administration, where my portfolio included international relations between cities at a time when the United States was preparing to sign the historic COP21 Paris Agreement. (President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement for a second time after re-entering office two months ago.)

When I worked at the State Department, I traveled to climate conferences around the world, and Miami was almost always the first slide in every presentation, held up as the key example of the front lines of climate change with massive assets at risk from climate change: $750 billion in property. The message was that for Miami to thrive in the decades ahead, it had to prioritize resilience to the shocks and stresses of a changing climate and solutions would emerge at the local level, where action can be swift and community-driven.

Miami Climate 365, a year-round environmental sustainability initiative, is one such bold solution, designed to unite individuals, community leaders and organizations in collective action. This week’s Miami Climate Week and the Resilience 365 Conference serve as a rallying point for community-based organizations, local leaders, businesses and residents to come together, exchange ideas and accelerate solutions that make Miami drier, cooler and more resilient. It’s an opportunity to replace doom and gloom with concrete adaptations to mitigate climate change.

Miami-Dade County, like many other major urban centers across the United States, faces an escalating heat crisis. Rising temperatures threaten vulnerable populations, strain energy grids and exacerbate health disparities between the rich and poor, whose neighborhoods typically have fewer green spaces and shaded areas. The solution for this will not come from waiting for the federal government to fix it. Instead, local communities and governments must tailor solutions to their unique environments.

One good example I have seen in my travels is Medellín, Colombia, where a visionary urban greening initiative has transformed the city’s climate. Through the creation of 30 green corridors – tree-lined pathways designed to cool urban spaces and improve air quality – Medellín successfully reduced local temperatures by 3.6°F between 2016 and 2019. That city’s program demonstrates the power of nature-based solutions and underscores how targeted, community-led efforts can have profound, measurable impacts.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s launch of an urban forestry plan is a great step in that direction.

Other local communities can act now too, whether by expanding urban tree canopies, investing in sturdier infrastructure or introducing innovative cooling technologies such as HVAC systems that use less energy and produce cooler, less humid air conditioning for commercial and residential properties. These efforts – when done on a large scale that addresses the climate crisis by developing, commercializing, and scaling technologies focused on climate adaptation and mitigation – can redefine Miami’s future and serve as a model for other cities facing similar challenges.

Staying informed and getting involved is not just an option; it is a necessity. The future of Miami and all communities vulnerable to rising sea levels, rising temperatures and worsening droughts depends on the collective will of residents to advocate for and implement solutions that work for their communities. Every action contributes to a larger effort to change the path we’re on.

We can either continue to be the cautionary tale on every climate conference slide, or we can take control of our future and demonstrate that Miami-Dade is not just an urban area at risk, but at the forefront of climate resilience. The time to act is now, and the power to lead that change is in our hands.

David A. Duckenfield is the executive director of Miami Climate 365, a year-round initiative focused on strengthening community-driven efforts to address environmental challenges in Miami-Dade County. He is a former deputy assistant secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.