Ohio currently stands as the nation’s sixth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, presenting an opportunity for carbon pollution reduction initiatives in the state to make a significant impact. With this incentive, municipalities in Ohio are working together to build a clean energy economy that meets emissions reduction, local investment, and energy independence goals. A major facilitator of this community-led effort across the state is Power a Clean Future Ohio.
Power a Clean Future Ohio (PCFO) is a diverse coalition of organizations engaging with cities and local governments to equip community leaders with the tools and resources to build an equitable economic future powered by clean energy. Recently, PCFO has teamed up with Clean Fuels Ohio to offer free fleet electrification analyses for PCFO leading communities—those cities and localities who have stepped up and committed to pragmatic and impactful carbon reduction plans with PCFO’s support.
One of the hallmarks of the PCFO campaign is their 30-by-30 pledge, whereby community leaders pledge to reduce their municipality’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% by 2030. As the greatest contributor to GHG emissions in the US, transportation figures as a prominent focus in this pledge. By assisting PCFO leading communities with assessments to determine the most sustainable, cost-effective, and performance-optimizing ways to incorporate electric vehicles into their transportation fleets, Clean Fuels Ohio is playing a key role in Ohio’s community-driven fight against climate change.
The City of Lima is one such leading community with which Clean Fuels Ohio is currently working. Earlier this year, Lima became the tenth leading community to join PCFO, demonstrating an explicit interest in deploying new electric vehicles in the city fleet.
Upon joining PCFO, Lima Mayor, David Berger, expressed his enthusiasm for the economic and environmental benefits the coalition can bring to his city, proclaiming, “Our community is poised to take advantage of major cost savings and implement climate solutions that will attract private sector development and increase job growth. For the sake of our health and our well-being, we can’t afford not to prioritize sustainability in the city’s plans for the years ahead and I, along with my staff, am looking forward to working with the Power a Clean Future Ohio coalition on these important efforts.”
Said PCFO Executive Director, Joe Flarida, about Lima’s addition to the group of leading communities, “We applaud Mayor Berger and city leadership for their bold leadership in embracing clean energy and clean transportation opportunities to support local economic growth and the health and well-being of all who call Lima home.”
In addition to the City of Lima, Clean Fuels Ohio is currently working with five other PCFO leading communities on fleet electrification: the City of Athens, the City of Cincinnati, the City of Euclid, the City of Lima, and the Village of Silverton.
Clean Fuels Ohio is excited and grateful for this opportunity to support community-driven clean transportation efforts bringing economic prosperity and cleaner air to Ohio towns, villages, cities, and counties. Stay tuned for the results of these fleet electrification partnerships and keep an eye out for the electric vehicles soon to be on the roads of PCFO leading communities.
