The cities of Chicago, Illinois, as well as San Diego and San Jose in California have impressed with concepts for the development of emissions-free vehicles. As such, they have each been awarded grants in the amount of 100,000 US dollars from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the International Council on Clean Transportation and other groups. Local municipal partners are to be supported in efforts to ensure that CO2-free commercial vehicles are exclusively used in the cities by 2030.
In total, 25 cities took part in the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge, further details of which can be found in an article published by Smart Cities Dive. The three winners receive both financial and technical support for the implementation of their concepts. Chicago will now seek to advance the development of cargo e-bikes in addition to supporting companies in their transition to electric vehicle fleets.
San Diego will create a medium and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle infrastructure blueprint that will be of benefit to communities that have been particularly hard hit by diesel pollution. In addition, obstacles to the introduction of electric vehicles are to be identified. For its part, San Jose will launch a pilot program for zero-emission neighborhoods, with local residents to be included in the consultation process for this. In addition, a draft resolution for the elimination of emissions is to be submitted to the city council.
“Mayors of cities understand intuitively that the same actions that will help us to achieve our climate goals and bring down that carbon pollution, they also just make their cities better places to live”, explains Amanda Eaken, NRDC Director of Transportation with the American Cities Climate Challenge, in the article.
