The Cap Times: Opinion | When it comes to climate action cities are leading the way

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway, Racine Mayor Cory Mason, Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, and Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg for The Cap Times

Our state experienced record heat and wildfire smoke this past summer, negatively impacting the well-being and livelihood of many households.

Extreme weather and climate change more broadly are threatening our health and way of life here in Wisconsin. We must come together and act boldly to address the mounting threat of the climate crisis.

Cities can help lead the way out of the climate crisis and save taxpayers money in energy costs in the process. As mayors of five Wisconsin cities, that's exactly what we're committed to doing.

President Biden's Affordable Clean Energy Plan, which includes the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law last year, has been critical to helping us achieve our clean energy goals and become pioneers for bold climate action. Not only the most significant climate legislation in United States history, the Inflation Reduction Act is also unique in that it allows local governments to receive tax credits directly for improving energy efficiency.

The Clean Energy Plan gives municipalities access to competitive financing through a new Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the country's first green bank, uses public and private capital to accelerate the clean energy boom.

The Clean Energy Plan is helping make cities like ours safer and healthier through funding to improve the walkability and health of disadvantaged communities, support the rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, purchase zero-emission buses and reduce air pollution in ports. Here are just some of the specific actions our cities are taking to create a cleaner, safer future.

In 2021, Wausau became the first municipality in Wisconsin to pass an environmental justice resolution. In March of this year, we passed a Clean Energy Resolution, which commits to 100% clean energy for city government operations by 2050.

Since 2019, Madison has taken across-the-board action to reach our goal of 100% renewable energy and net zero carbon emissions for city operations by 2030 and communitywide by 2050. Our MadiSUN initiative works to expand solar energy for homes, businesses and nonprofit organizations through grants and group purchasing.

In 2023, Racine unveiled the state's first and largest electric bus fleet to be powered by onsite solar energy. In addition to implementing this solar project, almost 40% of Racine's bus fleet has or will be converted to an all-electric operation.

In 2019, Green Bay signed on to the Clean Energy Pledge and added the city's first resiliency coordinator to Mayor  Eric Genrich's first budget. In 2021, the Common Council endorsed those efforts by approving a resolution establishing a climate goal of 100% clean energy and carbon neutrality for the entire Green Bay community, including residents, government and businesses, by 2050. Since then, we established our first clean energy plan and launched Wisconsin's first municipal Conservation Corps.

In 2023, Milwaukee adopted a Climate and Equity Plan with 10 Big Ideas. These support the primary goals of reducing community greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030, achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and improving racial and economic equity by creating green jobs that pay at least $40,000 and focus on recruiting local people of color.

The clean energy transition has led to a massive jobs boom, one that has the potential to be the most inclusive economic boom in our nation’s history. Wisconsin alone has seen hundreds of new clean energy jobs and $445 million in investment announcements since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.

As of 2022, our state had more than 70,000 clean energy jobs, including jobs in renewable electricity generation, energy storage, energy efficiency and clean vehicles. In August, the Biden Administration announced the launch of the American Climate Corps, which will train 20,000 young people for careers in clean energy, climate adaptation and conservation.

We need to move forward into our clean energy future, not backward into our fossil fuel past. Sixty-five percent of Wisconsinites feel favorably towards creating new good-paying jobs and expanding job training in the clean energy industry.

We’re at a pivotal moment: The cost of wind and solar is now lower than coal, oil and methane gas. For the first time ever, wind and solar power generated more electricity than dirty coal-fired power over the first five months of 2023.

The potential benefits of the Biden Administration's Clean Energy Plan are tremendous, but it's up to us to take full advantage of them. Cities can and should lead on this issue. We're proud that our cities are seizing the opportunities in front of us and working towards a clean energy future.

This column was co-authored by Mayor Katie Rosenberg, Wausau; Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway, Madison; Mayor Cory Mason, Racine; Mayor Eric Genrich, Green Bay; Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Milwaukee.

Read the original article here.