Giving Compass' Take:

• The Trump Administration formally withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, abdicating the U.S. leadership role in negotiations, but efforts by local governments and private companies - along with market forces - are keeping the U.S. on target. 

• What are the advantages of national and international commitments on global issues like climate? How can philanthropy work with governments to make an impact on climate change? 

• Find out how climate change impacts people living in poverty. 

In the year since Trump announced that he was pulling the U.S. out of the Paris agreement–the historic climate deal to cut emissions enough to keep the global temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius, and ideally, under 1.5 degrees–the U.S. is still making progress in spite of the federal government’s lack of support.

More than nine gigawatts of renewable electricity was added to the American electric grid over the last 12 months. In 2017, U.S. carbon emissions from energy fell to the lowest level in 25 years. Electric vehicles had their best year in sales. Twenty-seven coal plants announced plans to close in 2017; more coal capacity was retired in the first 45 days of 2018 than in the first three years of Obama’s first term.

Cities like Minneapolis and Norman, Oklahoma committed to getting 100% of their electricity from renewable energy, joining more than 80 other American cities and counties with the same goal. A coalition of states is working together to put a price on carbon.

Economics are helping drive some of the changes. In many regions, it’s cheaper to build a new solar or wind power plants than a new fossil fuel plant. And in some places, like Colorado, the price difference is so great that it’s cheaper to pay to build a new renewable energy plant than it is to keep buying power from existing coal plants.

The Trump administration’s efforts to loosen environmental regulations haven’t been particularly effective. The administration suspended the implementation of the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era policy designed to fight climate change. But the U.S. is still on track to meet the goals of the Clean Power Plan in 2019, 11 years ahead of schedule.

Read the full article about the Paris Climate Agreement by Adele Peters at FastCompany.