Climate action initiative in New Orleans targets net zero carbon

A federal grant will help the city achieve decarbonization in ways that also grow the health of its community and economy.

For many people, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans nearly 20 years ago, the storm made the impacts of climate change visible for the first time. The images of people stranded on their roofs and of neighborhoods covered in water illustrated the very real risks associated with a warming planet in a way that bar graphs never could.

In addition to rebuilding, New Orleans officials and activists have poured their energy over the past two decades into drafting and implementing climate action plans aimed at both minimizing carbon emissions and making the city more resilient in the face of climate catastrophe. Then, in July 2024, the city received $50 million in federal grant funding to help turn much of this planning into reality-an effort that city officials have dubbed "New Orleans Climate Action and Resilience Benefiting Our Neighborhoods" (NO CARBON).

The city intends to reach net zero by 2050. With the new infusion of resources, New Orleans officials aim to transform the city from a warning of the dangers of climate catastrophe into a model for a practical path forward.

"I let out a very loud yell of joy in my office when we were notified," says Greg Nichols, who oversees the New Orleans Office of Resilience and Sustainability. "This is the largest investment that has ever been made in the city on climate action. It's a game-changer."

With the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant funding, awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the city will focus on seven target areas over the next five years. The grant application process provided an opportunity for public officials to think through what sort of funding and action steps would be needed to implement some of their most ambitious plans, notes Anna Nguyen, external affairs manager for the city's Office of Resiliency and Sustainability.

"What had previously seemed unattainable now seems within reach," Nguyen says. "There's definitely a lot of optimism and excitement."

Growing transit equity through bike access

In addition to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to meet decarbonization goals, increased use of bicycles by residents expands their employment options and promotes health and wellness. To really make this happen, though, the city needs to increase access to bikes and expand its network of protected bikeways.

New Orleans' bike programs increase access to transportation for all residents. Photo credit: Patrick Niddrie.

Expanding bike share

The New Orleans Blue Bikes program offers per-minute e-bike rentals, as well as monthly access plans-including a $4 discounted monthly membership program called Blue Bikes for All for residents who qualify for SNAP or Medicaid. Currently, the Blue Bikes service area covers 10.5 miles of the city, but that area will grow by 41% over the next five years. Additionally, the grant funding will allow the Blue Bikes program to add 2,500 new e-bikes to its fleet, install solar panels on its warehouse and purchase a fleet of e-vans to support its operations.

"The expansion is focusing on neighborhoods that historically have not had the same level of transportation resource allocation as other parts of the city," says Patrick Urbine, interim executive director of Blue Krewe, the nonprofit that oversees the Blue Bikes program. "We estimate that 8,200 low-income community members in seven underserved neighborhoods will be serviced by the expansion."

Matt Rufo, transportation policy and program manager in the Office of Resilience and Sustainability, notes that the Blue Bikes expansion is one of three programs focused on expanding biking in New Orleans. Officials have set a goal of increasing the share of non-automobile trips in the city to 50% by 2030, up from the current number of around 28%.

"It's a very ambitious goal," Rufo acknowledges. "But these programs, combined, create a comprehensive set of strategies to help us achieve it."

Protected bikeways

More bicycles won't increase ridership, Urbine notes, if people don't have any place to ride them. While New Orleans has made strides in recent years on its overall bikeability, the grant funds will allow the city to construct seven miles of new protected bikeways adjacent to its downtown area, expanding bike access to people who may be intimidated by sharing the roadway with automobiles.

"In a perfect world, you get a really good bike network, and then you get a bike-share program," Urbine says. "In reality, it's a series of iterations, and you're learning and working in tandem. This is one of those beautiful opportunities. For the past three years, bike-share ridership data has been provided to the city to help inform where we see a lot of ridership already and where there's potential to improve connectivity for the existing bike network."

Improving the safety of biking is a priority for officials in New Orleans, where, according to state data, 27 cyclists died in crashes between 2019 and 2023. However, Rufo also sees the new protected bikeways as a way to offer more transportation options for workers in the city's thriving tourism and service industries.

"Like many other cities, our transit system has been challenged by labor shortages-and, in some cases, vehicle shortages-and we've had to adjust service accordingly," Rufo says. "We see bike share as providing a practical alternative. Parking downtown is expensive for our service industry workers. If you are working as a barback or waiting tables or cleaning rooms, you can't afford to spend half your daily pay on parking."

The new grant will allow the Blue Bikes program to add 2,500 new e-bikes to its fleet. Photo credit: Patrick Urbine.

E-bike rebates

Over the life of the EPA grant, New Orleans will add 3,000 resident-owned e-bikes to the city's roads through an aggressive point-of-sale rebate program. Like the Blue Bikes expansion program, the e-bike rebate program was designed to specifically assist underserved populations in the city, with a minimum of 60% of the total rebate funding going to low-income and disadvantaged participants.

"Unlike the bike share, which only covers 10 to 15 square miles, these e-bikes will be available to people citywide," Rufo notes. "We don't have hills, but biking is really inconvenient and uncomfortable during our summer months, and e-bikes can help if you're trying to get somewhere where you need to look presentable."

The program will provide 2,000 rebates to low- and moderate-income residents at a maximum amount of $1,200-generally enough to pay for the entire cost of an entry-level e-bike. There will also be 1,000 rebates at a maximum amount of $600 for other residents. Rufo estimates that the program will at least double the number of privately owned e-bikes in the city.

Residents will only be able to use the rebates at New Orleans bike shops-ensuring not only that the money goes to local businesses, but also that e-bike owners will be able to get their vehicles repaired in the future.

Energy-saving strategies

Nichols notes that the different program areas affected by the grant complement one another in ways designed to have a multiplier effect-with the hope that the ultimate impact will be greater than the sum of the various parts. Most obviously, the activities of the three bike-focused programs will each advance the goals of the other two. Several of the grant programs also include workforce development components meant to collectively boost the local economy and provide residents with new opportunities. In addition, solar access and reforestation benefit residents as much as they do the city's carbon footprint.

Residential solar subsidies

The city already has a program called Solar for All, which partners with two local solar developers and the Greater New Orleans Foundation to offer free residential solar feasibility studies and help eligible homeowners take advantage of federal tax credits. Until now, the program hasn't offered any direct assistance with the purchase of solar panels. With the EPA grant funding, though, Solar for All will be able to provide subsidies for 1,400 solar installations for homeowners with low to moderate incomes.

"We know that solar is a huge investment for homeowners, even with the tax credits that are available," says Sophia Winston, energy policy and programs manager for the Office of Resilience and Sustainability. "Some folks might not be tax-liable, so those tax credits aren't really appealing to them. They need money to cover the upfront costs."

In addition to helping lower energy bills for residents, Winston notes, rooftop solar panels make homes more resilient to storms that may knock out power for days at a time.

The grant money will fund $5,000 subsidies-an amount that officials estimate will bridge the financing needed for a solar installation after factoring in a planned state program. For both the e-bike rebates and solar subsidies, the city is hiring a third-party administrator to provide reimbursements to vendors, ensuring that payments are made in a timely fashion and that residents receive their discount at the time of purchase.

The city has held stakeholder engagement sessions to speak with community members about their sustainability priorities. Photo credit: City of New Orleans.

Energy benchmarking for commercial buildings

Winston notes that simply instituting an energy benchmarking program has been shown to reduce energy use by around 2% per year. "Once people actually start looking at their bills, they are just more cognizant of their energy use," she says.

Plans for the benchmarking program are still in flux, but the city plans to set a size threshold for buildings (likely starting at 20,000 square feet, Winston says), and then require owners of those buildings to gather their annual energy consumption data and submit the information to the city. Then, city officials will check the data for inaccuracies and look for trends that might lead to reductions in energy use.

The EPA grant will allocate $1.4 million toward the benchmarking program, which will pay for a full-time employee to oversee the program for five years, as well as data management software. "The funding provides a level of certainty, where we can create this policy, pass it, and implement it over the next five years-and give it a good foundation," Winston says.

Left: The city has made energy upgrades to numerous buildings, including historic structures such as Gallier Hall. Right: Residents enjoy outdoor recreation opportunities in green spaces around the city. Photos credit: City of New Orleans.

Energy audits

Between 2016 and 2020, New Orleans conducted energy audits at approximately 50 city properties, resulting in a lengthy list of desired energy-efficiency upgrades. The city has already implemented 39 of those projects (mostly centered on HVAC and lighting improvements), helping to decrease overall energy use in city buildings by 23%.

"The grant application included everything that we hadn't been able to implement from the audit recommendations," Nichols says.

The grant money will fund additional upgrades in 41 city buildings-including 14 rooftop solar installations. For the grant application, the city used data it had collected in 2020 for a solar PV feasibility study on city-owned properties.

Some older buildings, such as original City Hall building Gallier Hall, are subject to historic preservation guidelines, yet the city has still made extensive energy efficiency upgrades within those parameters, says Nichols. The City of New Orleans received a Building Commissioning Excellence Award in partnership with Green Coast Enterprises for these efforts.

"It's critical that the city show leadership with benchmarking and upgrading our own buildings when we are asking other large buildings to do the same," he explains. "It shows we understand the challenges and costs associated with energy efficiency, but also that what is possible."

Reforestation

The city's reforestation plan will also make biking in the city more enjoyable and accessible. "We're going to plant some of those trees along the protected bikeways. If you think about the urban heat island impact, we want to provide shade on those protected bikeways, so that it's a comfortable place to be outside," Nichols says.

The EPA grant, along with funding from an existing grant program managed by the Greater New Orleans Foundation, will pay for 7,500 new trees over three years-planted primarily in underserved neighborhoods-to advance the city's goal of 40,000 new trees by 2030. In addition to providing shade for bike commuters, the new trees will enhance green spaces, improve air quality and increase climate resilience.

Dan Jatres, infrastructure projects administrator for New Orleans, notes that the city is still working to replace the huge number of trees destroyed by Katrina. "The current state of the city tree canopy is very much a product of the extensive damage that happened in 2005," he says. "Well over 100,000 trees in the city were killed during Katrina, whether it was from wind damage or the upwards of three weeks of time spent under the salty water that was flooding neighborhoods. That's one of the objectives of our urban reforestation plan, to continue on the journey of replacing what we lost 20 years ago."

Reforestation initiatives, such as this site in Washington Square, continue the work of restoring tree canopy lost during Hurricane Katrina. Photo credit: City of New Orleans.

Adapting to climate change and improving lives

One reason Nichols jumped for joy when he learned about the grant award is that the funded programs were designed to have a tangible impact on residents' daily lives, in addition to making the city more sustainable. "People are going to be able to lower their energy bills and access better transportation options as a result of this grant," Nichols says. "We're really excited about that, because our office does a lot of behind-the-scenes work that people don't always see day-to-day."

Remmington Belford, spokesperson for the EPA, emphasizes the impact of the grant activities not just on the city as a whole, but specifically on neighborhoods that need these benefits the most. "This grant ensures the overall benefits of clean energy will flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution," he says.

Jatres notes that, while Hurricane Katrina was a landmark event, New Orleans continues to feel the effects of climate change "on a daily basis." Summers are getting hotter, and rainstorms are becoming more frequent and severe. In recent years, Gulf of Mexico saltwater has begun traveling up the Mississippi River, threatening the area's supply of fresh water.

For New Orleans officials, Jatres says, these threats aren't cause for despair. They're a call to action.

"None of these problems is unsolvable," Jatres says. "It's just a matter of making the wise investments to get us there."

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