
Environmental activist and former vice president Al Gore joined Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to announce that the City of Boston has received $6.5 million from the federal stimulus package to create an energy efficiency organization for the city.
The $6.5 million, from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, will fund Renew Boston, a public-private partnership aimed at increasing energy efficiency and alternative energy services for Boston residents and businesses. Renew Boston will create a $1.3 million residential energy efficiency program and a $1.3 million revolving loan fund. It will also go toward funding the top projects on the city’s list of municipal solar electric, solar thermal and wind energy projects.
The mayor also announced the formation of the Boston Climate Action Leadership Committee. The 21-member committee is intended to plan the city’s response to climate change. The committee is funded by grants of $250,000 each from the Barr Foundation and the Boston Foundation.
For its first year, the committee plans to review the city’s climate action plan; update the city’s greenhouse gas emissions inventory and set goals for city-wide reductions; recommend to the mayor actions necessary to meet climate action goals; evaluate the risks to Boston from the rising sea level and other effects of climate change; recommend actions for the city to reduce these risks; prepare educational materials for city residents and businesses; and identify economic and workforce development opportunities associated with climate action and the clean technology sector.







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