Climate Innovation Demands Leadership in Thought and Action

Knowing our communities need innovative ways to move people and goods without adding harmful emissions to our air, we convened the public-private Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) in 2018 to accelerate the transition to transportation electrification and zero emissions goods movement in Greater Los Angeles by the time of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Together, we set bold targets that were seen as crazy in 2018, yet they were key to demonstrating bold commitments to reduce pollution in a region that is known for car congestion, dirty air, and being the entry point for 40% of the nation’s goods. 

Since then, the partnership has been a catalyst for going further, faster, together to create and implement innovative solutions that no one entity could achieve alone. Highlights include connecting low-income communities and startups to pilot a variety of EV car and e-bike sharing business models, creating the nation’s first voluntary zero emission delivery zone with the City of Santa Monica and a roster of cleantech innovators, and crafting a blueprint to electrify drayage trucks along the busy I-710 freeway and then securing federal and regional funding to deploy the first public charging depot for trucks at the Port of Los Angeles.

We’re proud of the progress we’ve achieved regionally by working with cities, startups, and other key public and private sector leaders to invite, pilot and scale technology, business model, and policy innovations that accelerate equitable climate action. Building on this unique model, LACI–in partnership with C40 and Climate Mayors–is working with cities across the country via our City Climate Innovation Challenge (the Challenge). (1)We have previously highlighted the critical role cities play in leading climate action during a time of federal inaction (catch up on the topic with a blog from LACI President and CEO Matt Petersen here). We can now share the latest details on the policy research and pilots underway in the inaugural Challenge, along with the leadership philosophy that guides our action. 

Our first Challenge is spurring the move to zero emission delivery among nine cities that are committed to advancing transformative climate solutions that meet local needs. For instance, LACI is currently working with partners in New York City to research an Indirect Source Rule that would reduce pollution from truck traffic to and from warehouses. This policy draws heavily from a similar successful policy solution LACI supported in Southern California though tailored for the New York City market. 

In Washington, D.C., we recently launched an exciting year-long pilot providing e-bike rentals along with swappable e-bike batteries to meet the needs of busy delivery drivers. The pilot aims to catalyze the transition from gas-powered mopeds and cars to clean, quiet e-bikes for app-based food delivery. 

Other current and planned pilots in the inaugural Challenge focus on distributed energy resources (battery storage and solar panels) integrated into charging infrastructure for electric vans to be used by small businesses in Oakland, curb management and smart loading zones in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, and cargo-bikes for last mile delivery in Portland (OR). We’ve spent the last year scoping these pilots with the participating cities and technology providers to get these pilots off the ground. 

This policy research and these unique pilots offer tangible solutions that reduce emissions and invest in economic opportunities in these cities–thereby advancing essential actions that reinforce the TEP’s and LACI’s principle of growing an inclusive green economy through investment in goods movement electrification.

This is what the challenge is all about: providing effective climate leadership in policy and action. Just as TEP set local targets to align key stakeholders around zero-emission transportation goals, the pilots in our testbed cities help move the needle toward the progress cities want to see. 

The Challenge doesn’t just provide a model for action–it actually drives results. Through the nine cohort cities, the Challenge reaches about 55 million people, or one in every six Americans. Not only are we achieving results in the communities where the challenges take place, but we are demonstrating what is possible for a host of additional cities and towns across the country. And for that we are very proud. 

Future cohorts in the Challenge will seek to address other key issues facing cities, including urban charging solutions, vehicle to grid (or building) integration, and/or building electrification. 

Thanks in part to the Challenge, cities are stepping up to drive climate action forward. Stay tuned for more information on the latest pilots in the inaugural City Climate Innovation Challenge, and details about the next cohort. 

(1) LACI is grateful for the generous funders whose contributions help make the City Climate Innovation Challenge possible, including: The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, MUFG Bank, The Rockefeller Foundation, the State of California, Wells Fargo, and the U.S. Department of Energy.