How US cities dropped climate protection commitments inresponse to mainstream political opposition and programmaticstagnation

In 2005, after Congress failed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, many American cities stepped up their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, by 2012, these efforts had fallen off, only two years after their peak. In new research, Rachel Krause writes that many cities decided to abandon their climate protection commitments because of the influence of mainstream political conservatism, and that this effect was more likely for cities which had achieved fewer environmental milestones.