Rocio Gomez prepares to take off on a Blue Bike during a bike helmet giveaway in 2023. A $50 million carbon emissions reduction grant from EPA announced Monday, July 22, 2024, will include $11.8 million to expand Blue Bike bikesharing in New Orleans.
The city of has been awarded nearly $50 million for programs aimed at reducing by as much as 38,000 metric tons over the next five years, including an expansion of and , commercial and city building energy conservation programs, and residential solar panel installations, the federal announced Monday. The New Orleans grant was one of 25 nationwide totaling $4.3 billion, according to EPA, and could result in reducing greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent by 2050, about the same amount emitted by 5 million homes over 25 years, the agency said.
The New Orleans money will fund seven projects aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the primary greenhouse gas, and four worker training programs designed to support the projects: The projects align with the city's Climate Action Plan and the Regional Planning Commission's Southeastern Louisiana Priority Climate Action Plan, and if they continue through 2050, would remove 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions from the atmosphere. "This grant represents a significant investment in the health and resilience of our city and reaffirms our commitment to environmental stewardship and social equity," Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.