Funds Will Be Used to Develop Specific Targets to Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050
PROVIDENCE, RI – Mayor Jorge Elorza today announced the City of Providence has received a $270,000 grant from the Boston-based Barr Foundation through the City’s Office of Sustainability. The funds will be used to develop specific energy-reduction targets and create a strategy to become a carbon-neutral city by the year 2050.
“Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time and it poses a great threat to the City of Providence,” said Mayor Elorza. “This grant will help the city do its part in addressing this global challenge while also improving the livelihood and resilience of our residents and businesses.”
The grant will build upon the Equity in Sustainability initiative, which has been working with communities of color to bring a racial-equity lens to the City’s sustainability agenda. Thus far, this work has focused on outreach and the creation of Recommendations for a Racially Equitable and Just Providence, a document created by the Racial and Environmental Justice Committee to encourage social equity in shaping policy, which the Office of Sustainability recently adopted. With the Barr Foundation’s support, this groundbreaking work will help apply this concept to advance the City’s carbon reduction initiatives with equity at their core.
“It is our privilege to support Providence to advance its goal to be carbon neutral by 2050,” said Mariella Puerto, Co-Director for Climate at the Barr Foundation. “Preparing for climate change and equitable access to clean energy are clearly priorities for Mayor Elorza and his team. By engaging residents and businesses in meaningful ways, and integrating climate and equity into city projects of all kinds, Providence is claiming its place among a growing number of U.S. cities showing leadership on climate action and clean energy.”
The Barr Foundation’s support will provide the Office of Sustainability with greater capacity to set expectations during the city’s transition to becoming carbon-neutral, a goal set by Mayor Elorza in 2016. The increased capacity will allow the City to set an agenda at the local level and foster deep community engagement to ensure broad support for the adoption of clean energy proposals.