Updates on the Cool City Challenge
The Academy is happy to share an update from Fellow David Gershon regarding his project, the Cool City Challenge. The project invites and supports early adopter cities (initially in California, then US and worldwide) with financing, social change expertise and consulting support to embark on the climate moonshot of our time: becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030. The quest will galvanize and ennoble a city and its citizens with a profoundly inspiring mission for humanity’s future.
Recent updates include:
- The Cool City Challenge (CCC) initiative has raised $130+ million in grants and pledges for a 10-year program to create carbon neutral cities by 2030, starting in California. This is complemented by $2 billion of committed low-cost financing to support households in implementing energy efficiency retrofits and solar/EV installations.
- CCC has published a climate moonshot strategy (see attachment and website https://coolcity.earth) to help cities accelerate the speed of carbon reduction by 3x providing them the potential to become carbon neutral by 2030 instead of 2050.
- Phase one of Cool City Challenge begins June 1st when the application period opens for all California cities over 40,000 population with a climate action plan or a city council approved commitment to reduce carbon emissions. CCC will award 3 California cities with $1 million per city plus the equivalent of $1 million in technical support to help them achieve this goal.
- The second phase of the Cool City Challenge, beginning June 2022, will select 25 California cities and 25 cities across America to invest $1 million plus the equivalent of $1 million in technical support to help them achieve this goal.
- There are 183 California cities representing 66% of the state’s population with existing climate action plans that qualify for this competition. With 28 cities we would be at the 15% tipping point for diffusing this climate solution breakthrough across California.
- CCC is also creating a $25 million Carbon Neutral City Prize to support breakthrough innovations and recognize cities who become carbon neutral by 2030.
For more information, vist the Cool City Challenge website here.
