Is Denver's Big Bet on E-Bikes Paying Off?

The city of Denver, Colorado, is encouraging its residents to reduce their transportation emissions with an incredibly popular e-bike rebate program. Several times a year, the city offers a set amount of income-based vouchers on a first-come, first-served basis that cover up to $1,400 of an e-bike purchase.

Local governments in the United States are taking the lead on carbon removal projects to meet net-zero goals, which could help bring down the cost of the technology to make it more widely accessible. A coalition of governments in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, for example, awarded grants to projects that store carbon dioxide in concrete.

Washington State’s Climate Commitment Act set a limit on greenhouse gas emissions and created an emissions market to incentivize emission reductions while generating money for climate change mitigation. Carbon emission allowances are auctioned off to businesses, and set percentages of the income are designated for projects like electrifying public transit.

Federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act and added incentives from the state of Colorado and its municipalities is drawing in clean energy companies, creating new jobs, and helping the state meet its decarbonization goals.

Alongside clean energy, wind farms built on property leased from locals in Nebraska are generating jobs, income, and local taxes that keep small towns like Petersburg afloat.

In New England, government incentives and education are supporting and encouraging residents to swap their wood-burning stoves for high-efficiency models that burn less wood and emit less smoke. The aim is to reduce air pollution and its public health and climate impacts.

The United States Envrionmental Protection Agency is distributing grant money to help tribes like the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma start and grow recycling programs, as funding is often a massive hurdle. The tribe was able to purchase equipment like a semi-truck and compactor with the funds.

The Omaha City Council’s Master Plan’s Environment Element report of proposed strategies and goals related to climate action was left largely forgotten and ignored for two decades. Experts say the city’s new plan should be more actionable, a real commitment, and have a dedicated staff.

Thanks to a government-funded electrification project, Modhera is the first solar-powered village in India, and as a result, nearly all of the residents pay nothing for electricity. Instead, they earn money from selling unused power back to the grid.

In an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act uses tax credits to encourage the adaptation of and investment in renewable energy across the country.