Contributions to Great Lakes Climate Action Study

Climate action takes many forms throughout the Great Lakes region. From major cities like Chicago to the state of Michigan’s 3,288 miles of coastline—and from the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe in Wisconsin to the industrial shores of Cleveland—the need for funding escalates as climate change threatens habitats and livelihoods.

In 2022, such funding became available on a historic scale with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Propelled by the new legislation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program, which provides $5 billion in funding for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollution, with $4.6 billion earmarked for competitive implementation, and $250 million for non-competitive planning grants.

In the bid to compete for a portion of that funding, states, cities, and tribal nations across the U.S. compiled some of their best ideas into their Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) for submission to the EPA.

Liesl Clark, inaugural Director of Climate Action at U-M’s School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) and former director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), recognized a unique opportunity.  

“Given that we sit in the heart of the Great Lakes and 21% of the world’s fresh surface water, we wanted to explore the region’s plans to identify the highest-impact, most innovative and scalable multi-state opportunities,” said Clark.

In close coordination with partners from the Erb Institute, Clark assembled a team composed of U-M Deputy Director of Communications and Engagement for the SEAS Sustainability Clinic, Lauren White (MS ’15), and three student researchers. The ambitious eight-week project, launched in March ’24, tackled the central goal of discovering key trends, best practices, and potential areas for collaboration across state and jurisdictional lines.

“We looked for what was working, to inform ways to accelerate community-based climate action,” Clark said.

The Erb Student Research Team

The three student researchers— Mahima Obhrai (MBA/MS ‘25), Victoria Jenkins (MBA/MS ‘24), and Jaya Uppal (MBA/MS ‘26)—were Erb Institute dual degree students, completing MBAs at the Ross School of Business and MS degrees at SEAS. Each student focused their efforts on one of three sectors chosen for their significant impact on carbon emissions: buildings, power, and transportation. 

Obhrai, who specializes in Sustainable Systems at SEAS, has five years of experience in operational consulting, focusing on the energy sector and financial institutions. She shared her experience of working on the CPRG team.

“We realized that we were pretty aspirational in our research,” said Obhrai. “We set out to cover X-number of states, cities, and tribes—hoping to do an apples-to-apples comparison. But we soon realized that every context was different in terms of where they were in their clean energy work, as well as their implementation.

“Having said that, we realized that this research could be useful in identifying best practices in some of the states, cities, or tribes that were already ahead of the curve—and identifying which of those practices could potentially be adopted by others. I think that was definitely number one for all of us,” said Obhrai.

The research included the reading and analysis of plans from six Great Lakes states—Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan—as well as tribal plans from the Forest County Potawatomi, Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association and Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. The team also selected plans from key cities and MSAs in the region: Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Columbus, and West Michigan/Grand Rapids.

Three of the main themes that the team examined included: key common drivers of emissions by states; proposed emissions reduction solutions; and opportunities for collaboration across jurisdictions. 

“Some cities were great in terms of talking about how they ensured collaboration within the state, the city, and the tribes,” said Obhrai. “But others were not so vocal about the collaboration they’ve done. Obviously, it’s important because energy is a sensitive topic. There is energy security on the one side, and there’s clean energy on the other. Sometimes, they both might be two different sides of the same coin—but those sides cannot meet if it’s not implemented in the right way. You can’t balance the cost of clean energy and energy security on your own.”

Another metric for the team was the inclusion of Low Income/Disadvantaged Communities (LIDAC) within the plans. 

“There was a lot of talk about LIDAC in every state, but there was not as much consistency in tactical implementation steps,” noted Obhrai. “Some would be more high level; some would be more detailed. We highlighted cities that were already ahead, and realized that yes, it’s great to have an aspiration, but even better to have a concrete set of steps you need to take to achieve that aspiration.”

The culmination of the team’s work, a report entitled, “Life is Better By the Lakes: How the Great Lakes Region is Responding to EPA Calls for Action in Climate Leadership”, was released on May 16, 2024. 

The authors wrote that “The Great Lakes climate action plans provide instructive insight into how the region is gearing up to make use of the federal IRA allocations for implementation now and in the future.” The report also noted that while the PCAPs do not demonstrate the full tactics that the jurisdictions intend to employ, they are an important step—and one that has led to increased collaboration. 

Fellow team member Jaya Uppal has a joint specialization in both Sustainable Systems and Environmental Justice at SEAS, and is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer with five years of experience in renewable energy technology. She spoke of what she viewed as unexpected findings in the CPGR research.

“I was struck by how variable the states in the Great Lakes region are,” said Uppal. “I realized that they were very diverse in their make-up, but it was interesting to compare and contrast. Places like Michigan and Illinois were really on top of it, and I didn’t realize that they would be such leaders in climate action. Perhaps other Midwestern states can look at those two states for guidance on how to move forward and create better plans in the future.”

Future Research

The report concludes that this initial CPRG study of PCAPs in the Great Lakes region is a starting point for mapping and understanding the trajectory of the sectors they reviewed—buildings, power, and transportation. Subsequent studies could address additional sectors, such as agriculture, waste management, and industry. The report authors note that as jurisdictions develop their Comprehensive Climate Action Plans (CCAPs), there will be considerably more detail for future analysis.

Whether some of the existing team members continue the research—or the torch is passed to others—the process has been well documented to offer guidance for further study. In addition to its primary purpose of identifying best practices in emission reductions across multiple states, the research also proved instructive—and personally rewarding—for the Erb student researchers.

“Working with Liesel and the team really opened my eyes to all the amazing, brilliant people who are working to make a positive impact in the climate space within the public sector,” said Uppal. “And it is awesome to see how this work is making a concrete difference in communities.”

Read the story Life is better by the lakes: A new summary of Great Lakes climate plans on the SEAS website.