U.S. Cities Climate Action

Best PracticesOUR CITIES, OUR CLIMATE

A Bloomberg Philanthropies – U.S. Department of State Partnership

CLIMATE ACTION STRATEGY MAP

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Planning and Implementation

Mitigation Strategies

• Implementing the Plan• Staffing and

organization• Financing• Monitoring progress

• Building Capacity for Modeling & Analysis

• Stakeholder Engagement, Communications & Political Will

• Influencing Other Levels of Government

• Financing the Climate Strategy

• Mitigation Planning• Emissions Inventories

and Analysis• Setting Goals• Developing Strategies

• System Strategies• Buildings• Energy Supply• Transportation• Solid Waste

• Cross-System Issues• Integration in

Neighborhoods & Districts

• Integration into Other City Plans

• Social Equity

Adaptation Strategies

• Adaptation Planning• Climate Impact

Forecasting• Vulnerability

Assessment• Developing Strategies

• System Strategies• Buildings• Energy Supply• Transportation• Water/Waste

• Cross-System Issues• Integration in

Neighborhoods & Districts

• Emergency Management

• Regional Governance

CITY CLIMATE ACTION

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HIGHLIGHTS

Many U.S. cities are reducing GHG emissions and preparing for climate impacts—developing, testing, and implementing best practices, borrowing from and sharing with cities worldwide

U.S. cities are serving as “innovation laboratories” for climate action• 1,000+ mayors pledged to support Kyoto Protocol

targets• 350 cities using ICLEI ClearPath online emissions

platform• 132 local governments have set GHG emissions

reduction targets, 33 of them “80x50” or earlier• 22+ cities in Compact of Mayors; 8 cities in

Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance Leading-edge cities are showing it is possible to

reduce emissions substantially and to uncouple economic and population growth from emissions production.

It is becoming widely recognized that climate-smart cities—ones that are mitigating and adapting—are livable cities that attract talent and investment—“co-benefits” of climate action.

Climate action by cities is not a “burden” or “tax,” but an opportunity for leadership and sustainable prosperity.

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HIGHLIGHTS: COMPACT OF MAYORS

Momentum for nations and cities to collaborate

“Thousands of cities are undertaking climate action plans, but their aggregate impact on urban emissions is uncertain (robust evidence, high agreement). There has been little systematic assessment on their implementation, the extent to which emission reduction targets are being achieved, or emissions reduced.“

-IPCC Working Group III

Why cities are committing to the Compact of Mayors

1) Widespread recognition of innovative and impactful city action already underway for years

2) A mechanism to demonstrate commitment to be part of the global solution

3) Data collection standards and reporting processes that allow for consistent and reliable assessment of progress

4) Encouragement for national governments to recognize local commitments with resources for those cities taking action.

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STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

1. Major System “As Is” Conditions• System structure (how does it work)• System performance (what are the results)• Key drivers (what affects performance)• Key barriers (what prevents improvements)

2. Vision for Re-Designed Systems• Envisioning the future desired state• System-specific emissions targets

3. System Change Architecture• Levers (general approaches to changing a system)• Strategies (application of a lever to a specific system)• Actions (a specific service, program, funding, regulation or other

mechanism to implement a strategy)

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TYPICAL SYSTEMS AND SUB-SYSTEMS

SYSTEM SUB-SYSTEMENERGY SUPPLY

• Electricity• Thermal Combustion (Natural Gas, Fuel Oil, etc.)

BUILDINGS

• Single Family Residential• Multi-Family• Small Commercial• Large Commercial• Industrial• Institutional (Education, Medical/Laboratory, etc.)

TRANSPORTATION

• Private vehicles• Commercial freight• Air• Public Transit• Biking/Walking

SOLID WASTE• Commodities (Paper, Textiles, Plastics, Metals, etc.)• Organics/Biological Materials• Industrial Waste (Chemicals, etc.)• Construction & Demolition

WATER• Water Supply• Stormwater• Wastewater

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VISION FOR SYSTEM REDESIGN - MITIGATION

SYSTEM SUB-SYSTEM

ENERGY SUPPLY

• Decarbonize Imported Electricity• Increased Local Production of Renewable Power• Reduced Demand/Consumption of Electricity• Elimination of Fossil-Fuel Heating Sources• Citywide Energy Management• Grid Modernization

BUILDINGS• High Energy-Efficient Existing Buildings Using

Renewable Power and Energy Recovery• Net-Zero Energy New Buildings• Energy-Performance Building Management• Green Buildings Business and Job-Creation Sector

TRANSPORTATION

• Radically Different Mode Share – 2/3 or More Trips by Public Transit, Walking, Biking

• An Array of Affordable, Accessible Mobility Choices• Market Dominance of Clean-Fuel Vehicles• Connected, Regionalized Mobility System• Alternative Urban Form Promoting Density and

Livability

SOLID WASTE• Zero Waste/Materials Management/Closed Loop• Culture of Sustainable Consumption (Purchasing,

Reuse, Recovery)

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VISION FOR SYSTEM REDESIGN - ADAPTATION

Additional Systems: Health, Natural Systems/Land Use, Emergency Management

SYSTEM SUB-SYSTEM

ENERGY SUPPLY• Distributed Generation and Micro- and Smart-Grids• Increased Storage Capacity• Infrastructure Hardening and Removal from High-Risk

Areas• Continued functioning during climate emergencies

BUILDINGS• Citywide Infrastructure Upgrades to Protect Property,

including Passive Barriers• New Building Design Standards for Resilience• Relocation of Utilities in High-Risk Areas; Back-up

Systems; and Elevated Structures

TRANSPORTATION

• Hardening and Elevation of Infrastructure• Increased Reliance on Above-Ground Transit, Walking

and Biking• On-Site Renewable Energy Backup Systems• Citywide Evacuation Plans

SOLID WASTE • Zero Waste/Materials Management/Closed Loop System• A Culture of Sustainable Consumption

WATER

• Integrated Water System Management at Watershed Level

• Citywide Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management

• Man-Made and Natural Barriers to Manage Coastal Flooding

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CITY LEVERS FOR MITIGATION & ADAPTATION

HIGH MARKET IMPACT

LOW MARKET IMPACT

VOLUNTARY MANDATORY

Mandate Behaviors

& investment

s

Encourage Voluntary

Action

Send Price Signals & Provide

Subsidies

Make Targeted

Public Investment

s

Time

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CITY LEVERS FOR CHANGELEVER EXAMPLES

ENCOURAGE VOLUNTARY ACTION

• Provide information/campaigns• Support communities of practice • Enable behavior change• Provide technical assistance

SEND PRICE SIGNALS & PROVIDE SUBSIDIES

• Provide subsidies for desired investment/behavior

• Provide financing tools to facilitate investment• Increase cost of undesirable behavior

(taxation, fees, cap-and-trade)• Provide regulatory relief in exchange for

investment/behavior

MAKE TARGETED PUBLIC INVESTMENTS

• Lead by example (city operations/facilities)• Invest in infrastructure• Invest in technology development and testing• Invest in local green businesses and job

creationMANDATE BEHAVIORS & INVESTMENTS

• Require reporting of climate performance• Require climate performance (e.g.,

implementation of resilience measures for private property

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AN EXAMPLE FROM THE BUILDING SECTOR

LEVER STRATEGIES

MITIGATION ACTIONS

ENCOURAGE VOLUNTARY ACTION

Encourage Improved Energy Efficiency Performance of Existing Buildings

• Promote competitive challenges among commercial buildings

• Use public facilities to promote “cool or green roofs”—coating of rooftops white to reduce building energy use

SEND PRICE SIGNALS & PROVIDE SUBSIDIES

Increase ROI for Investment in Building Energy Retrofitting

• Subsidize financial institution lending for energy retrofitting by building owners

• Promote the development of supportive market mechanisms such as: building appraisal and mortgage underwriting that capture value of investments in energy efficiency

MAKE TARGETED PUBLIC INVESTMENTS

Invest in De-Carbonizing Building Heating Systems

• Develop and expand low- to no-carbon district heating and cooling systems

MANDATE BEHAVIORS & INVESTMENTS

Mandate Performance Improvement of Buildings

• Require targeted buildings to benchmark energy performance and/or conduct energy audits

• Require new buildings to meet “net zero energy” standards

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INTEGRATION OF STRATEGIES IN A NEIGHBORHOOD Increasingly, cities are

focusing on the integration of mitigation and adaptation strategies in specific geographic areas, whether neighborhoods of special districts

These strategies customize the design of building standards, distributed generation, transportation, waste management, and adaptation measures to the unique requirements of a place

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INTEGRATING CLIMATE GOALS INTO CITY PLANS

Mitigation Strategies

• Mitigation Planning• Emissions

Inventories and Analysis

• Setting Goals• Developing

Strategies• System Strategies

• Buildings• Energy Supply• Transportation• Waste

• Cross-System Issues• Neighborhoods &

Districts• Social Equity

Adaptation Strategies

• Adaptation Planning• Climate Impact

Forecasting• Vulnerability

Assessment• Developing

Strategies• System Strategies

• Buildings• Energy Supply• Transportation• Water/Waste

• Cross-System Issues• Neighborhoods &

Districts• Emergency Mgt• Regional

Governance

City Comprehensive Land Use Plans

City & Regional Transportation Plans

Electric Utility Integrated Resource

PlansCity Utility Plans (Electric, Water,

Waste)Building Energy

PlansEconomic

Development Plans

COMMON CITY CHALLENGES

1. Building Capacity for Sophisticated Modeling & Analytics• Systems change strategies require high levels of detail on the systems, and

the ability to model the potential impact of different strategies and actions2. Political Will, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement• Broad coalitions of stakeholders need to be organized to support the

investments and policy changes needed to achieve deep de-carbonization• Benefits need to be communicated to stakeholders in terms that appeal to

their interests3. Influencing Other Levels of Government• There are limitations on City powers for every system; so transformative

change requires action at other levels of government (regional, state, national)

• Cities need to organize to communicate their interests and influence change

4. Financing the Climate Strategy• Cities must finance their programs to stimulate voluntary action, make

public investments, and enforce mandates.• Cities must design and fund financial incentives/subsidies and pricing

signals (e.g., taxes, cap-and-trade markets) to stimulate the desired private investments and behaviors 14