Dive Brief:

• A coalition of 19 cities and two counties announced the launch of the Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle (EV) Purchasing Collaborative, an online portal to give cities equal access to competitive bids on EVs and charging infrastructure.
• The founding members pledged to purchase 376 EVs, and have a wider goal to engage cities nationwide on their usage. The collaborative launched in partnership with the Electrification Coalition, a nonprofit that works to accelerate EV adoption and reduce oil dependence.
• "Through this innovative platform, Climate Mayors are sending a powerful message to the global car market: if you build electric vehicles, we will buy them,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. 

Dive Insight:

This announcement by Climate Mayors, which represents more than 400 mayors nationwide who work to uphold the goals of the Paris climate agreement, is the latest in a series of policy pushes and initiatives around EV adoption. Earlier this year, New York City, Paris, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh were among the many international cities backing the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Challenge, which calls on automakers to speed up the transition to EVs and for businesses to commit to purchasing more.

Meanwhile, many cities are continuing to push EV initiatives. Chicago has taken steps to welcome EV fleets, while a commuter line to downtown Los Angeles will welcome the nation’s first ever electric double-decker buses, thanks to an effort by the Foothill Transit agency. Studies have suggested EVs will continue to be adopted at higher levels and cities should be ready to help install the infrastructure. Spokane, WA, for instance, voted this year to waive building and construction permit fees for new EV charging stations.

In the announcement of this collaboration, which works in coordination with the America’s Pledge initiative, officials noted the urgent need to battle climate change and how EVs will help reduce carbon emissions. “The clean transportation revolution is no longer a distant vision for the far-off future — it’s a reality staring us in the face, and it’s happening here in Los Angeles and cities across the globe,” Garcetti said.

With cities key in the fight against emissions, collaborations such as these should encourage more jurisdictions to think about the future of their vehicles and how they can be made cleaner and less reliant on fossil fuels. “By providing those cites with the right tools to make EV purchases and acquire charging infrastructure it will be more efficient and affordable for cities nationwide to make this shift, a critical step towards reducing our oil dependency and meeting the goals of the America’s Pledge on climate change,” Ben Prochazka, Vice President of the Electrification Coalition, said in a statement.