CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte is one of 25 cities chosen for the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative. Bloomberg Philanthropies will help the Queen City secure federal funding for green initiatives that will reduce pollution.
The $200 million, three-year initiative is seeking to "turbocharge" the cities' goals of reducing emissions and building more equitable, low-carbon communities with the help of federal dollars.
Historic investment through the Inflation Reduction Act will help the Queen City address pollution and racial inequities through climate initiatives.
"Black and brown residents are disproportionately impacted by carbon pollution," Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera explained. "Residents that are living closer to freeways" is one example of this disparity that Ajmera highlighted.
The Inflation Reduction Act offers more than $400 billion to local governments. The Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative will help Charlotte apply for federal money to pay for environmental projects, especially in disadvantaged communities.
"This helps us address racial equity and helps us address our infrastructure gaps," Ajmera said.
Bloomberg will give Charlotte a fully funded team that will champion the grant efforts to grow the city's electric fleet, install more EV chargers, create a mobility hub in Sugar Creek, and make affordable housing projects more energy-efficient.
Amy Aussieker leads Envision Charlotte, a zero-waste initiative. She hopes the money will also help low-income families pay for high energy bills.
"You'll have older housing that people rent, and the landlord doesn't have any incentive to put in energy efficiency programs like appliances, and, you know, heaters," Aussieker said.
A big part of Charlotte’s 2040 mobility plan is reducing pollution. One goal is getting cars off the road and more people on public transit.
However, Ajmera recognizes the city must first improve the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).
"It should not take 45 minutes to get from point A to point B. When it does, you're losing ridership," Ajmera said. "So, we want to invest in the mobility plan to address all of those issues."
The Bloomberg sustainability program will run for three years.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.