A nonprofit is offering millions to help cities cut emissions. Will Worcester get some?
WORCESTER ― The city has an opportunity to get big bucks to cut carbon emissions linked to public health problems and climate change.
If the money comes through, it will arrive from what the Coalition for Green Capital is calling the first green bank in the U.S.
The nonprofit, based in Washington, D.C., was formed in 2009 to fight climate change. It received $5 billion from the Environmental Protection Agency to create the first national green bank. From that pot of money, the nonprofit wants to give a combination of investments and grants of up to $90 million to midsize cities nationwide that already have plans to cut carbon emissions.
The thinking is the injection of cash will help these communities push their plans along faster and cheaper, which will help the U.S. meet its goal of achieving net zero by 2050. Massachusetts has the same goal.
Worcester has the Green Worcester Plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions and the green bank wants to send funds to communities with populations between 50,000 and 600,000 so they can move their net zero plans along as fast and efficiently as possible. Worcester, with a population north of 200,000, meets the size requirement.
The Coalition for Green Capital expects to announce the initiative this week, give communities until February to submit applications and award the funds on Earth Day in April.
'Devil is in the details'
John Odell, Worcester’s chief sustainability officer, said that while he’s not aware of the program, “conceptually, it’s a great idea." He added the city needs more information about the effort, but if it works for Worcester, then City Hall would apply for some of the money.
"The devil is in the details," said Odell, meaning he has questions, including whether communities that get investments from the green bank would have to pay the money back. That can present challenges, said Odell, because any funds invested in net-zero projects need to show energy savings, with a portion of the savings used to pay back the loan.
Mixed results
Worcester has a track record of applying for environmental grants, with mixed results. The city received a state grant to design and build two Miyawaki forests to fight rising temperatures and beautify areas. However, the U.S. Forest Service rejected Worcester’s request for $23.5 million to plant thousands of trees to help mitigate extreme heat and combat the impacts of climate change.
Many cities have net-zero targets and clean-energy transition plans, but the Coalition for Green Capital believes the pace of investments must ramp up not only to meet carbon reduction goals nationwide, but also to ensure that 40% of the benefits from federal investments in climate and clean energy reach disadvantaged communities.
Cities the size of Worcester make sense
It makes sense for midsize cities with existing net-zero plans to receive the funds, said the nonprofit, because the majority of Americans live in them. Plus, 60% to 80% of all low-income and disadvantaged communities live in population areas of 50,000 to 600,000 people. These midsized cities account for 2.76 metric tons of carbon emissions yearly, according to the nonprofit.
Worcester is cutting its carbon emissions, according to a consultant's report. Buildings account for roughly 65% of the city's greenhouse gas emissions and Odell said an update on emissions should be released soon.
Applications with the best chance of attracting some of the money, according to the Coalition for Green Capital, will demonstrate several criteria including offering community solar projects, proposing to electrify public transportation and municipal fleets, and implementing new building codes that promote decarbonization.
Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Coalition for Green Capital offering millions to cut emissions
