Google has announced plans to support new climate action projects in 6 European cities as part of its global pledge to help more than 500 cities reduce 1 gigaton of carbon emissions annually by 2030. To reach that goal, Google.org is helping to fund 6 projects backed by the ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability network. The projects will use actionable data to test new strategies that can reduce emissions and improve air quality in cities across Europe, said Google.
The search giant last year pledged USD 4 million to ICLEI, a network of more than 1,750 local and regional governments, to establish the ICLEI Action Fund and support nonprofits and academic institutions in Europe and Latin America that are leading data-driven climate action efforts. The fund has so far selected projects in Birmingham (The Centre for Sustainable Energy), Hamburg (the CityScienceLab of the HafenCity University), Berlin (Deutsche Umwelthilfe), Manchester (Carbon Co-Op), Copenhagen (Miljopunkt Amager) and Nantes (Air Pays de la Loire).
The projects have shown how cities are thinking about data-backed sustainability planning and action, said Google, adding that that it has provided ICLEI’s Global Secretariat with additional funding to develop case studies so they can share best practices with cities around the world that are looking to implement similar data-driven climate interventions.
