The Center for Climate Strategies 

CCS works directly in partnership with state leaders and their stakeholders to identify, design, and implement policies that address climate, energy, and economic needs and opportunities. CCS works with states – including governors and legislative leaders of both Democratic and Republican parties – as well as mayors and local governments, industry and environmental interest groups to build consensus and forge action around a complex set of inter-related issues.

CCS is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to sharing knowledge and identifying best practices in environmental protection and policy innovation. The headquarters are in Washington, DC. CCS’s Executive Director, Thomas D. Peterson,  and senior management team, work with more than 20 consulting partners and affiliates located across the US and in Canada. Through its projects, CCS addresses key greenhouse gas emissions issues across a wide range of energy, transportation, natural resources, and economic policy issues by working closely with government officials, institutional experts, and members of the stakeholder community.

CCS has provided the technical assessments, startup planning, independent facilitation, policy design and analysis, and capacity building needed for successful consensus building and climate mitigation policy development in more than 20 states. The end result of CCS’s work with states and stakeholders includes critical assessments of emissions sources and trends, comprehensive climate action plan recommendations, support for development of administrative orders or laws to implement climate plans. CCS also offers coordination and technical support for regional efforts to advance collective action at a multi-state and national level.

With Congress and the Executive Branch moving to address climate change, CCS is also engaging national policymakers to advance the lessons learned from consensus-driven policies developed by multiple states. In addition, CCS is conducting additional economic analyses to demonstrate the cost-benefit of portfolios of climate strategies applied at a regional or national scale.

CCS sees the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “Stimulus package”) as an opportunity for states and local governments to boost renewable energy resources, enhance energy efficiency for buildings, and improve transportation. The Act  also provides funding for research, incentives and demonstration projects to promote greater utility-based efficiency in generation, transmission and distribution. It represents the largest federal energy investment in the nation’s history with enormous potential to reduce global warming pollution.

Beyond its multiple strategies for reducing emissions, CCS is helping vulnerable states address adaptation issues. This includes processes and methods for assessing the risks and costs of climate inaction as well as the co-benefits of implementing climate and energy security policies, e.g., public health and environmental protection.

History: CCS was originally formed in 2004 as a policy center of Enterprising Environmental Solutions, Inc. (EESI), part of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, to support states and other entities with greenhouse gas emissions assessments and the creation and management of climate change mitigation plans. With an expanded portfolio of projects and desire to engage national policymakers, CCS established its independent nonprofit status and moved to Washington, DC in 2008.