The Next Plans: Comprehensive Climate Action Plan

A roadmap to action at a pivotal moment

Greater Chicago is at a turning point. Climate change is no longer a distant threat but a daily reality, bringing 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 3 states, the plan charts a clear and ambitious path forward. It also informs The Century Plan, a long-term vision for a better, stronger region that CMAP is coordinating on behalf of the northeastern Illinois region.

Grounded in rigorous data and shaped by community voices and regional partners, the climate action plan offers a coordinated roadmap to reduce emissions, improve public health, and strengthen the economy.

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

What is Greater Chicago?

The plan covers 13 counties in 3 states:

• Illinois: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties
• Indiana: Lake, La Porte, and Porter counties
• Wisconsin: Kenosha County

Greater Chicago’s emissions

Greater Chicago produces roughly 152 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent each year. Most emissions come from three sectors:

• Industry (36%): reflecting the region’s concentration of steelmaking, refining, and manufacturing.
• Buildings (35%): driven largely by fossil- fuel-based heating in homes, businesses, and institutions.
• Transportation (26%): primarily gasoline and diesel used for passenger and freight travel.

Smaller but important shares come from agriculture, waste, and water and wastewater systems, while trees and wetlands remove about 2 percent of total annual regional emissions through carbon sequestration.

The good news is that regional emissions have already fallen 20 percent since 2005, which proves that meaningful progress is possible.

Core actions

The climate action plan offers 70+ strategies to reduce emissions, improve public health, and strengthen the economy. Strategies with the biggest impact fall into 6 core actions:

Clean and modernize the grid: Deliver 100 percent clean electricity through the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act in Illinois and comparable standards in Indiana and Wisconsin. Build transmission and storage to power electrification of buildings, transportation, and industry. 

Improve building efficiency: Weatherize roughly half of all residences and most commercial buildings, and apply performance standards that cut emissions significantly for nearly half a million of the region’s largest buildings. 

Switch to clean heat: Transition buildings off natural gas by requiring all-electric new construction, shift most appliance sales to electric by 2035, and install more than three and a half million heat pumps by 2050.  

Reimagine mobility: Reduce car trips by investing in transit, biking, walking, and compact development that shortens travel distances and expands travel options.  

Electrify vehicles: Transition passenger, freight, and fleet vehicles to electric and zero-emission technologies supported by robust charging and grid investments.

Decarbonize industry: Drive low-carbon manufacturing through energy efficiency upgrades, process electrification, and clean fuels. 

Benefits of emissions reduction

Climate action is not just an environmental necessity; it is a strategic investment in the region’s economy, public health, and long-term quality of life. 

• Human health
• Lower costs
• Economic competitiveness
• Affordability

Human health

Clean air is a priority for many communities across the region, but Greater Chicago consistently ranks among the most polluted metropolitan areas in the U.S. 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.

Lower costs

Climate action reduces risks — limiting extreme heat, lowering flood damages, protecting agricultural productivity, and easing long-term strain on drinking water supplies. These impacts already affect the region, driving infrastructure damage and higher public costs.

Reducing emissions now limits the severity of extreme heat and related health impacts, reduces the likelihood and cost of major flood events, protects agricultural productivity, and lessens strain on drinking water. These avoided impacts save billions of dollars in infrastructure repairs, emergency responses, health costs, and lost economic activity.

Economic competitiveness

Implementing the plan will require nearly doubling the workforce in climate-critical occupations, such as electricians, HVAC technicians, engineers, and construction trades, adding nearly 168,000 new jobs through 2050.

Supporting the adoption of efficient and low-carbon technologies by existing industries will lower their operational costs, reduce pollution, and position the region in advanced manufacturing, logistics, and clean energy innovation.

Affordability

Efficiency and reduced reliance on fossil fuels can help families and businesses better manage costs over time. Upgrading buildings, improving weatherization, and installing efficient technologies can lower energy costs and improve comfort, especially for lower‑income households. Modernizing the grid makes it more reliable during extreme weather and global price swings. And investing in transit and walkable communities reduces overall energy demand while expanding affordable transportation options.

Plan documents