Making Progress on President Obama’s Climate Action Plan

In 2013, President Obama announced the Climate Action Plan (CAP), the first comprehensive plan of the United States to address climate change. The CAP outlines 75 climate-related goals and respective actions that are subsumed under three pillars: mitigation, adaptation and international cooperation.

There has been marked progress on many items in the CAP over the last two years. Major success factors include the high-level political ownership, the long-term nature of the plan, the strategic approach behind the plan, and its high visibility at the national and international level.

The CAP sends a strong signal for a new climate agreement to be reached in Paris in 2015.

• President and his administration (lead)
• Governmental departments and agencies: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Department of Energy (DOE); Department of Transportation (DOT)/ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); Department of Agriculture (USDA); Department of the Interior (DOI)
• Industry leaders: partnership between the dairy industry and USDA