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Time for action: a climate roadmap for Greater Chicago

Greater Chicago is at a turning point: climate change is no longer a distant threat but a daily reality, with stronger storms, flooding, dangerous heat, and worsening air quality across the region. These impacts strain infrastructure, raise costs for families and businesses, and threaten public health and economic stability. At the same time, the global economy is rapidly shifting toward clean energy. Regions that act decisively now will be best positioned to attract investment, create jobs, and remain competitive.

To meet this moment with urgency and purpose, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), in partnership with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, developed the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan for Greater Chicago.

As the first regional framework to address all major sources of greenhouse gas emissions across a 13-county area spanning Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, the plan charts a clear and ambitious path forward. Grounded in rigorous data and shaped by community and partner voices, it offers a coordinated roadmap to reduce emissions, improve public health, and strengthen the economy.

Three sectors produce nearly all the region’s emissions

Greater Chicago emits about 152 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each year, with most emissions coming from three sectors: industry (36 percent), residential and commercial buildings (35 percent), and transportation (26 percent). Smaller but important shares come from agriculture, waste, and water and wastewater systems, while trees and wetlands remove about two percent of the region’s total annual emissions through carbon sequestration.

Emissions vary significantly across the region. Cook County produces the most total emissions, while industrial counties in northwest Indiana have the highest per-capita emissions. These differences reflect local development patterns, transportation assets, and industry clusters, underscoring the need for strategies tailored to each county’s profile.

Greenhouse gas emissions in the greater Chicago region, by county (2020)

Building on momentum to reach the emissions target

Regional emissions have already fallen 20 percent since 2005, which shows that meaningful progress is possible. Building on this momentum, the plan sets an economywide target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 48 percent by 2035 and 86 percent by 2050, relative to 2005 levels.

Modeling shows that these reductions are achievable if more than 30 strategies across all sectors are fully implemented. Coordinated regional action — paired with supportive state and federal policies — can put the region on an achievable path to deep decarbonization and long-term resilience.

Plan implementation scenario emissions reductions, by sector (2020-2050)

Without federal action, state and local policies identified in the plan can still drive meaningful progress, reducing emissions 58 percent by 2050. This highlights the critical role cities, counties, and states have to lead regional climate action.

State and local implementation scenario emissions reductions, by sector (2020-2050)

The roadmap toward action

The plan’s roadmap for reducing emissions can be summed up in six core actions:

• Clean and modernize the grid to deliver 100 percent clean electricity and support electrification
• Improve building efficiency through weatherization and performance standards
• Switch to clean heat through buildings transitioned off natural gas
• Reimagine mobility through car trip reductions and expanded travel options.
• Electrify vehicles across passenger, freight, and fleet vehicles
• Decarbonize industry through efficiency, electrification, and clean fuels

In addition to these core sector strategies, the region must recover and reuse resources to cut emissions and strengthen resilience. At the same time, restoring and stewarding natural systems is essential to long-term climate stability.

More than just emissions reductions — we can improve quality of life and the economy

The benefits extend far beyond emissions reductions. Implementing the plan could significantly cut harmful air pollutants, preventing up to 1,250 premature deaths and nearly 4,000 new asthma cases each year by 2050. Proactive climate action reduces risk — limiting extreme heat, reducing flood damages, protecting agricultural productivity, and easing long-term strain on drinking water supplies — and saves billions in avoided health, infrastructure, and emergency costs.

Climate action is also an economic strategy. The transition would support nearly 168,000 new jobs in climate-critical fields, strengthen advanced manufacturing, and position Greater Chicago as a leader in the clean energy economy.

Regional leadership can overcome the challenges ahead

The path forward will not be easy. Challenges include infrastructure needs, workforce capacity, affordability, and shifting federal priorities. Yet transformational change is not unprecedented. With thoughtful policy, investment, and collaboration, the region can accelerate progress.

Ultimately, the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan for Greater Chicago shows that deep emissions reductions are both necessary and achievable. It calls for leadership at every level to work toward a shared goal and seize a generational opportunity to build a healthier, more prosperous, and more resilient Greater Chicago.

Explore the plan to learn how your community can help shape the region’s climate future!

This work was funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program.