Up First from NPR
Trump is rolling back climate solutions. What can cities and states do?
24 May 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is the Sunday Story from Up First. Our planet is getting hotter. In fact, the last 11 years have been the hottest on record. And for people working to address climate change in the U.S., the last year has been a hard one.
Chapter 2: What recent actions has the Trump administration taken regarding climate change?
The Trump administration has been backtracking on rules and regulations meant to reduce planet-warming pollution.
We are officially terminating the so-called endangerment finding.
That was President Trump in February, announcing his administration was rescinding the scientific finding that underpins many of the nation's rules regulating climate pollution from cars and trucks and coal and gas power plants. And that's not all. In the last year, there have been lots of other changes. The administration has rolled back tax credits for electric vehicles and solar panels.
It's cut research to help us understand climate science and help us adapt to more heat and wildfires. But even in the face of these federal actions, there are states, cities and towns across the country that are still finding innovative solutions for the climate crisis. We're joined now by Julia Simon, NPR's climate solutions correspondent. Julia, welcome to the podcast.
So nice to be here, Aisha.
Julia, I understand that you're going to help us find some bright spots in the midst of all of this kind of doom and gloom for the climate that happened this past year in the U.S. So tell me about that.
Aisha, often the focus is on these big decisions on the federal level. But what's going on locally can be overlooked and it shouldn't. Right now, I'm going to take you to a gathering I went to recently that gave me a lot of hope. Well, we could definitely use some hope. We sure can.
So last month, I went to the first international conference for the transition away from fossil fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia. Burning fossil fuels, Aisha, it's the single biggest driver of climate change. So more than 50 countries, they showed up to support finding these concrete ways to transition away from oil, gas and coal.
I'm here in the plenary hall in Santa Marta, Colombia, and I see ministers from Spain, from Nigeria.
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Chapter 3: How are local governments responding to federal climate rollbacks?
Thankfully, over at Pop Culture Happy Hour, it's literally our job. We break down what's actually worth watching, listening to, and pretending you already knew about. So the next time someone says, did you see that? You can say, yeah, obviously. Follow NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts.
We're back with the Sunday Story. I'm Aisha Roscoe. And joining us for Climate Solutions Week is Julia Simon, NPR's Climate Solutions Correspondent. Now, this is your week. This is your Super Bowl, right? This is my shark week. This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. So you're going to be like a breath of fresh air on the show today, right? That is my goal. We need to hope.
I understand that you've picked out a couple of themes and stories that really show the power of local initiatives.
Exactly, Aisha. A lot of the stories this week are about energy because the energy sector, it's a huge driver of global warming. And in cities, a lot of that energy use, it happens through heating and cooling buildings. Right. Colorado Public Radio's Ishan Thakur brought NPR this story for Climate Solutions Week.
It's about how one city is using old infrastructure to find new ways to heat and cool buildings. They hope that by tackling one of the biggest ways that cities make climate pollution is They can be a model for other cities across the country and save money. Okay, that sounds like a win-win. So tell us more. Since the 1880s, downtown Denver, they've had this very special heating system.
It involves underground pipes that connect the buildings in a network of sorts. Ishan actually went to an old boiler plant that used to be a key part of this system. Today, it's this cavernous building filled with rattling pipes. And Aisha, there's no other way to say it. It's a pretty gross place. It's got asbestos, piles of dead cockroaches.
It looks like a good place for a rave or potentially a horror movie to be filmed at this moment.
That's Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. This old boiler plant was designed to make steam. That steam then snaked through that old network I mentioned earlier. Now, heating buildings this way, it was very innovative in the 1800s. But today, it's super leaky, it's expensive, and it's also polluting. So Mayor Johnston says that he has this big vision for this boiler plant and the system it was a part of.
And we think we are standing what can be the future of energy in Denver.
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