The White House announced a $15 million bump in funding Monday to help cities confront climate change by reducing their energy consumption.
The funding is part of a much bigger $80 million package to mark the beginning of SmartCities Week. The funding is meant to promote the role of cities in improving transportation efficiency and emergency preparedness, in addition to promoting a cleaner environment.
“With nearly two-thirds of Americans living in urban settings, many of our fundamental challenges — from climate change to equitable growth to improved health — will require our cities to be laboratories for innovation,” the White House said. “The rapid pace of technological change, from the rise of data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and ubiquitous sensor networks to autonomous vehicles, holds significant promise for addressing core local challenges.”
The administration created the Smart Cities Initiative a year ago to encourage cities to cooperate with federal agencies and the private sector to turn urban areas into technological test beds to “help make our cities more inhabitable, cleaner and more equitable.”
The White House said it is marking the first anniversary of the initiative by kicking off Smart Cities Week and expanding funding and doubling the number of cities and communities participating to more than 70.
The new climate change funding includes the creation of two new coalitions to help cities “tackle energy and climate challenges,” according to a White House fact sheet. It said the Energy Department has signed up 1,800 buildings to adopt new sensors and analytical tools to help reduce energy use by at least 8 percent.
The $15 million in climate funding announced Monday will build on Energy Department public-private partnerships with cities.
