Energy Foundation

A project of the Energy Foundation, the China Sustainable Cities Initiative has as its goal to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution in new and existing Chinese cities by improving urban planning and urban transportation. It conducts pilot projects to spark the design and adoption of effective national policy while building technical capacity to implement its policies locally. Renewed funding for the sixth year of this Initiative should produce these results: In urban planning: The pilot project areas of Chenggong in Kunming and Yuelai in Chongqing begin construction of development projects that follow low-carbon eco-city planning principles. Also, the Ministry of Housing and Urban and Rural Development adopts a national guideline for nonmotorized transportation systems planning and design.In urban transportation: The Ministry of Transportation adopts its 12th Five-Year Plan for public transit and identifies national pilot cities under its Transit Metropolis program. All pilot cities will be required to finish development of local regulations and action plans to promote public transit.

The Energy Foundation is a leading organization in climate and energy grantmaking in the United States and China, and a long-term grantee. The goal of this grant is to support the Energy Foundation’s U.S. transportation program to strengthen its resources for defending the implementation of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard in California. The standard, which requires reducing 10 percent the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 2020, was originally approved in 2007 and is currently facing legal and political challenges.

The Energy Foundation is an important re-grantor helping to accomplish Hewlett Foundation goals to reduce global warming emissions from the transportation and electricity sectors in the United States and China. This grant would support the Energy Foundation’s work in the U.S. to advance policies that spur innovation and open markets for clean energy technology. The grant will enable the Energy Foundation to develop strategies, make grants, and monitor and evaluate progress in priority geographies and policy arenas. The Energy Foundation supports a broad array of stakeholders to ensure that clean energy progress is substantial and sustainable, including technical and policy experts, as well as influential leaders and constituencies working to build support for a new energy economy.