Climate Change and Resilience
ARC’s Climate Change & Resilience program aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in metro Atlanta, support the transition to a lower-carbon economy, and help the region become more resilient to climate change and current and future extreme weather conditions. This program coordinates the agency’s climate-related initiatives to ensure that climate change and resilience is considered in all of our planning work. As part of this, ARC is seeking grants to fund important climate change related planning initiatives, a first for the agency.
Regional Transportation Electrification Plan
Developing an integrated model of the metro Atlanta’s energyshed that includes technical, social, and community inputs. Simulations will be conducted to assess the impacts of potential energy futures within the ARC energyshed. This was completed in Spring 2026.
ARC’s Climate-Related Programs & Initiatives
ARC’s Climate Change & Resilience program builds on ARC’s successful climate-related work, which has helped improve the region’s air quality. This includes:
- Transportation planning. ARC’s long-range transportation plan invests $173B through 2050 to reduce congestion in some of the region’s worst bottlenecks, expand transit and bike-ped options, and promote alternative commute options.
- The Livable Centers Initiative, which provides planning grants to help communities transform themselves into more walkable places with a mix of uses, which helps reduce vehicle miles traveled.
- Our Green Communities program, which encourages local governments to reduce their carbon footprints.
As a result, the Atlanta region’s air quality has steadily improved over the past two decades. This includes both ozone, the main ingredient is smog, and particulate matter. Levels of ozone and particulate matter have dropped by more than 50 percent since 2000.
