Dive Brief:

Los Angeles and Fayetteville, AR were recognized as winners of the 13th annual Mayors' Climate Protection Awards , an initiative from the The U.S. Conference of Mayors in partnership with Walmart.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti accepted the award in the large city category for his city’s work on electric vehicles (EVs), especially the creation of the Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collaborative in 2018. Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan took home the small city category award in recognition of the city’s investment in the largest solar power project in Arkansas.

Large city honorable mentions went to the mayors of Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis, New York City and Salt Lake City. Honorable mentions for the small city category went to the mayors of Asheville, NC; Hanover Park, IL; Lake Worth Beach, FL; Milpitas, CA and West Springfield, MA.

Dive Insight:

Los Angeles has long positioned itself as an urban leader on climate change. This spring, Garcetti released "L.A.’s Green New Deal," which accelerated the city’s climate action goals to put it on a path for 100% renewable energy by 2045 and 100% zero-emissions vehicles by 2050.

The Mayors' Climate Protection Award recognized Garcetti’s work in establishing the EV purchasing collective, a platform for cities to electrify their municipal fleets by offering them access to a single, competitive bid contract that lowers costs and shows the collective interest in the cars. Since launching in September, 125 cities and nine counties have used it to commit to purchasing nearly 2,000 EVs.

The recognition of Fayetteville shows that small cities have their own role to play in fighting climate change. The city has a goal to achieve 100% clean energy by 2030, up from about 16% clean energy today.

A big part of that is the city’s collaboration with Ozarks Electric Cooperative and Today’s Power Inc. for the state’s largest solar power system on municipal land, the first in Arkansas with on-site utility-scale storage. That project alone will provide more than 50% of the city’s renewable energy, but Fayetteville is also investing in solar panels on municipal buildings and a wastewater treatment plant.

As the federal government pulls back from climate action, cities have emerged as the key leaders, with many of them exploring their own Green New Deal-type plans or setting ambitious climate goals. According to America’s Pledge, the work of 3,000 sub-national partners has the U.S. on track to lower emissions 17% below 2005 levels by 2025, halfway to the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.