SAN DIEGO (CNS) - San Diego is among four cities named Wednesday to join the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Natural Resources Defense Council President Rhea Suh said Los Angeles, San Jose and Portland, Oregon, were also selected for the $70 million effort by Bloomberg's American Cities Initiative to support and enhance a total of 20 cities' capacities to fight the effects of climate change and create environmentally sustainable solutions.
Bloomberg announced last month that Seattle, Washington, and Atlanta, Georgia, were selected for the program.
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"The response to our Climate Challenge was overwhelming," Bloomberg said. "Cities all across the country put forward thoughtful and innovative proposals. Selecting the ones with the most ambitious goals -- and the most realistic plans for reaching them -- was not easy. But Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and Portland all stood out, and we're glad to include them in the group of winners."
The American Cities Initiative is a $200 million investment intended to support policies that Bloomberg sees as critical. The cities participating in the climate challenge program will receive a suite of funds and materials to assist in the fulfillment of their individual climate action plans. Each city will also be partnered with a program liaison to help develop and ultimately pass legislation to curb climate change.
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"The American Cities Climate Challenge gives cities the tools they need to lead the way," Suh said. "With cities generating the majority of the fossil fuel pollution driving climate change, and bearing the brunt of its impacts, fighting climate change begins in City Hall. These mayors are committed to delivering a brighter, more hopeful tomorrow for future generations."
According to Bloomberg Philanthropies, San Diego city officials led by Mayor Kevin Faulconer pledged to work with Bloomberg and his partners to make public and environmentally friendly transit choices more accessible to residents, incentivize land owners to build housing developments closer to public transit access points and implement an energy plan based solely on renewable energy sources.
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"San Diego is proud to be recognized as a national leader for climate action and to be one of only 20 winners of the American Cities Climate Challenge," Faulconer said in a Twitter post. "Through this Bloomberg Philanthropies program, we'll receive support to meet our climate goals."
