Despite the numerous environmental obstacles thrown up by the previous administration, many U.S. cities have not only persevered in their efforts to combat climate change but they have made major strides forward, thanks to Bloomberg Philanthropies and its groundbreaking American Cities Climate Challenge program.

Created in 2018, the Climate Challenge, in partnership with NRDC, provided 25 cities with powerful resources to boost their efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Cities account for an overwhelmingly large percentage of global carbon emissions, primarily through transportation and buildings — sectors where mayors can enact real change.

Empowered by the Climate Challenge, these 25 cities implemented 54 major transportation, buildings and energy policies and 71 bold climate programs and initiatives — even in the midst of a global pandemic — resulting in substantial gains over just 2.5 years.

In a report that crunched the numbers, here’s what these impressive gains mean in cold, hard data: Collectively, the work of the Climate Challenge across these cities will reduce CO2 emissions by 74 million metric tons (MT) from 2020 through 2030, compared to a business-as-usual scenario. When we took this a step further and evaluated their combined achievements, including action taken outside of the Climate Challenge, we found the cities are on track to collectively reduce emissions by 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, which will beat the 2025 Paris Agreement goal of a 26 to 28 percent reduction.

Since transportation generates a significant share of emissions in the United States at 29 percent, Climate Challenge cities made cutting these emissions a priority. To date, they’ve approved 31 policies and launched 41 programs that have incentivized low-carbon transit, increased vehicle electrification, and changed the face of their streets — with 510 miles of new or improved bike lanes and 75 miles of pedestrian-friendly walkways.

Read the full article about cities climate win by Hilary Firestone at GreenBiz.