Congratulating the City of Philadelphia and the Office of Sustainability on Winning the 2018 Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge.

WHEREAS, The Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge is a $70 million dollar effort to enhance the work being done by cities around the United States to combat climate change. The effort was launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies and its founder Michael R. Bloomberg, former New York City Mayor and the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action. Bloomberg Philanthropies works in 480 cities in more than 120 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people; and

WHEREAS, The Climate Challenge aims to accelerate a city’s innovative and ambitions climate action plans to facilitate high-impact solutions focused on the building and transit sectors, two areas traditionally responsible for 80% of all citywide emissions. The work is conducted in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council and Delivery Associates; and

WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia joins Pittsburgh, Boston, and Washington D.C. in winning the latest round of the Climate Challenge. They join six winners from previous rounds – Atlanta, Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, San Jose, and Seattle. Each winning city receives approximately $2.5 million and a funded team member to facilitate the implementation of climate-focused policies; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability, a chartered department of the City of Philadelphia since 2014, collaborates with stakeholders around the City to improve quality of life, reduce carbon emissions, and prepare Philadelphia for the inevitable effects of a changing climate. The Office of Sustainability will be instrumental in the execution of this extraordinary opportunity; and

WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia intends to use this opportunity to scale up energy efficiency projects across homes and the city’s largest commercial buildings through policies, programs, job training and other resources, as well as dramatically increase the generation and use of renewable energy by leading and supporting institutional clean energy procurement programs. Philadelphia will work with Bloomberg partners to increase trips by bicycle, walking, and transit by five percent by 2025 or sooner through the implementation of

Connect: Philadelphia’s Strategic Transportation Plan

. The City will also accelerate transition of 6,000 municipal vehicles to electric and work with SEPTA to electrify its fleet; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, that we hereby congratulate the City of Philadelphia and the Office of Sustainability on winning the 2018 Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge.

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