Austin wins in climate challenge

Austin got another feather in its cap Friday, when Bloomberg Philanthropies announced that the city was a winner in the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge. Austin will now enroll in a two-year program that will help the city meet (and perhaps exceed) carbon reduction goals. According to a press release, “Bloomberg Philanthropies selected Austin as a winning city because of their innovative and ambitious climate action plans to reduce air pollution and city-wide emissions with specific projects aimed at reforming their respective transit and buildings sectors, areas which are typically responsible for 80% total of all citywide emissions. Bloomberg recognized Austin Mayor (Steve) Adler and City Manager (Spencer) Cronk for their commitment to ambitious climate action and securing a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment and economy for Austin residents.” According to the release, the city plans to use its newfound support to incentivize sustainable commuting, work with car dealerships to increase electric vehicle sales, retrofit municipal buildings to render them more environmentally sound, increase Austin Energy’s commercial rebate program, and implement new parking management and pricing to help reduce vehicle emissions.