U.S. EPA’s Climate Showcase Communities: Innovative Models of Low Carbon Sustainability

1. U.S. EPA’s Climate Showcase Communities: Innovative Models of Low Carbon Sustainability Megan Samenfeld-Specht U.S. Environmental Protection Agency UN-HABITAT, World Urban Forum 7 Medellín, Colombia April 10, 2014

2. Overview 2 Local Sustainability and Climate Action in the United States U.S. EPA’s Climate Showcase Communities Appendix of U.S EPA resources to support local climate action

3. Local Sustainability and Climate Action in the United States • Local governments are leading by example and demonstrating the multiple benefits of investing in sustainability • Greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions • Air quality improvements • Cost savings • Energy security and reliability • Economic development • Public health protection • Quality of life improvements • Local governments are well positioned for this work • Jurisdiction over relevant sectors • Connections to local priorities • Relationships with citizens • Opportunities to develop and implement inventories, action plans, and targets • Community Values + Local Action = Sense of Identity + Pride in Community *Major opportunities to reduce resource consumption, energy use, and GHG emissions

4. U.S. EPA’s Climate Showcase Communities • Competitive grants to fund implementation of climate change mitigation pilot projects across the United States • 50 projects, $100,000-$500,00 grants • Awarded to 44 local governments and 6 tribal nations • Mission • Create models of cost-effective and persistent GHG mitigation • Catalyze broader local and tribal government climate actions • Improve environmental, economic, health, and social conditions • Scope • Residential and commercial energy efficiency • Energy production • Land use • Waste management • Transportation

5. Climate Showcase Communities: Who They Are Diverse geographic regions, community sizes, government structures& capacity • Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Montana: • Green jobs training for tribal members and energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades to tribal buildings • West Union, Iowa: • Downtown revitalization with a geothermal heating and cooling district and a green streetscape • Cherry Hill, New Jersey: • Small communities partnership to identify GHG reduction actions in buildings and transportation • Albuquerque, New Mexico: • Landfill methane capture and use in municipal applications • Durham, North Carolina: • Neighbor-to-neighbor outreach to promote home energy retrofits and a community GHG reduction competition • Alameda County, California: • Waste reduction by working with businesses to create reusable packaging • Little Rock, Arkansas: • Employer-based access to audits and low-interest financing for residential energy efficiency retrofits • Houston, Texas: • Bike-sharing program and electric vehicles

6. Climate Showcase Communities: Who They Are Participants in the EPA-OAS grantee twinning project • Salt Lake City, Utah: • Community-based campaigns to promote alternative transportation, reduce vehicle miles traveled, and improve air quality • Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board: • Small communities partnership to develop climate action plans and clean energy projects

7. Projected Annual Benefits of all 50 Grants by 2015: Improved Quality of Life in Communities

8. Opportunities for Your Community Check out our case studies, videos, and toolkits

9. Closing thoughts Local governments and communities have an important role to play in addressing climate change U.S EPA has resources available to help you reduce your GHG emissions while pursing a range of sustainability projects with multiple benefits The Climate Showcase Communities are developing concrete models of local climate action and achieving real results that make a difference for the quality of life in their communities U.S EPA is committed to learning from these communities, documenting their stories, and sharing their experiences with youto promote replication and scale up of climate action

10. Connect with Us! • Megan Samenfeld-Specht • International Environment Specialist • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency • Office of International and Tribal Affairs • Samenfeld-specht.megan@epa.gov • (001) 202-564-9964 • Emma Zinsmeister • Lead Local Climate Strategy Analyst • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency • Climate Showcase Communities • State and Local Climate and Energy Program • zinsmeister.emma@epa.gov • (001) 202-343-9043 10

11. Appendix of U.S. EPA Resources • State and Local Climate and Energy Program • Website • Guide to U.S. EPA Climate and Energy Program Resources • Local Climate and Energy Strategy Series • Assessing the Multiple Benefits of Clean Energy • GHG Inventory Tools • GHG Equivalencies Calculator • ENERGY STAR • Portfolio Manager • Combined Heat and Power Partnership • Combined Heat and Power for Enhancing Building Reliability and Resiliency • Building Blocks Program • Walkability Audit Tool (Available in Spanish)

12. U.S. EPA State and Local Climate and Energy Program Resources for Local Governments and Communities • Guidance and Tools • Provide technical resources on developing, implementing, & evaluating GHG and heat island mitigation projects (e.g., Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series) • Link to internal and external technical support programs • Peer-to-Peer Exchange (International participants are welcome!) • Facilitate knowledge transfer & project replication • Engage a wide range of stakeholders to leverage resources & expertise • Provide training webcaststo support capacity building and newsletter updatesto highlight new resources/funding opportunities • Climate Showcase Communities (CSC) Program • Support, document, and showcase replicable modelsof sustainable climate action • Demonstrate value of investing in communities

13. U.S. EPA State and Local Climate and Energy Website Provides governments with: • Background information on sectors related to climate change • Guidance on designing, implementing, and evaluating programs and policies that reduce GHG emissions • Links to tools, guidance documents, webcasts, podcasts, and other technical assistance offered by EPA • Examples, case studies, stories, and videos from communities across the U.S. Visit: www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate 13

14. Other Technical Assistance Programs from U.S. EPA Printed copies available onsite today! Available at: www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/documents/pdf/slb_guide_to_program_resources.pdf

15. Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series • Documents in this series include: • Energy Efficiency • K-12 Schools • Affordable Housing • Energy-Efficient Product Procurement • Local Government Operations • Combined Heat and Power • Water and Wastewater Facilities • Transportation • Transportation Control Measures • Community Planning and Design • Smart Growth • Solid Waste and Materials Management • Resource Conservation and Recovery • Renewable Energy • Green Power Procurement • On-Site Renewable Energy Generation • Landfill Gas to Energy • Straightforward GHG emissions reduction strategies local governments can use to achieve economic, environmental, social, and human health benefits • Each document provides an overview of: • Benefits • Planning and design • Key stakeholders • Policy mechanisms • Implementation considerations • Costs and funding opportunities • Programs and resources that offer technical assistance • Examples and case studies • Available at: www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/resources/strategy-guides.html

16. Assessing the Multiple Benefits of Clean Energy • Document designed to help state energy, environmental, and economic policy makers identify and quantify potential benefits of clean energy initiatives: • Energy - Energy Savings; System Benefits • Air - GHG Reductions; Air Pollutants • Health - Public Health Benefits & Cost Savings • Economic - Jobs • It provides an overview of: • Why it is important to think about the multiple benefits of clean energy • An analytical framework for understanding multiple benefits • Approaches to calculating or estimating energy savings as the foundation for deriving multiple benefits • Different tools and approaches for estimating benefits across varying levels of rigor • Includes tips on the advantages, disadvantages, and appropriateness for each approach. • Examples of state analyses and estimates of the multiple benefits of numerous clean energy options 16 Available at: www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/resources/benefits.html

17. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tools • Modular, Microsoft Excel-based tools that provide a framework and default data and emissions factors to simplify inventory process • Tools can be modified for international users • State Inventory Tool (SIT) • Facilitates state-wide GHG Inventories for 1990-2010, Projections through 2030 • Compares to U.S. Inventory; top-down emissions, not facility level data • Available at: http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/resources/tool.html • Local GHG Inventory Tool (LGIT) • Framework for single year inventories—divided into government operations and community wide • Based on protocols from ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and The Climate Registry • Designed for cities, counties, regional planning, and organizations • Currently in development (not available yet)

18. Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator • Enables you to communicate the magnitude of GHG reductions using quantities that people can easily understand, such as number of trees planted • Tool can be modified for international users Available at: www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html

19. Management Tool – Helps business and organizations by offering a platform to: • Assess whole building energy and water consumption • Track changes in energy, water, greenhouse gas emissions, and cost over time • Track green power purchases • Share/report data with others • Create custom reports • Apply for ENERGY STAR certification • Metrics Calculator – Provides key performance metrics to integrate into a strategic management plan • Energy consumption (source, site, weather normalized) • ENERGY STAR 1-to-100 score (available for 15 building types) • Greenhouse gas emissions (indirect, direct, total, avoided) • Water consumption (indoor, outdoor)  Accessible in a free, online platform:www.energystar.gov/benchmark International users can track energy performance, but benchmarking is only available in the U.S.

20. Developed by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Dept. of Energy, U.S. EPA to respond to the Hurricane Sandy Task Force Strategy and its recommendations • Makes the case for CHP as a disaster preparedness and energy resilience strategy • Spells out requirements and costs associated with a CHP system that can run independently of the grid • Assists program implementers and project developers in determining whether CHP is a good fit and comparing it to other options (e.g., back-up generation) • Provides information on financing options and a list of CHP resources (e.g., on project development, resiliency/reliability) Combined Heat and Power (CHP) for Enhancing Building Reliability and Resiliency Available at: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/sustainable_housing_communities/chpguide

21. Provides quick, targeted technical assistance to communities using a variety of tools that have demonstrated results and widespread application. • Assist local and/or tribal governments implement development approaches that protect the environment, improve public health, create jobs, expand economic opportunity, and improve overall quality of life. • Organization of American States adapted Building Blocks program for its technical assistance, focusing directly on Walkability Audits. U.S. EPA’s Building Blocks Program Available in English and Spanish Visit: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/buildingblocks.htm