Pittsburgh earns international award for work addressing climate change

Pittsburgh won second place in an international competition known as the Climate Challenge Cup, part of COP26, the ongoing United Nations conference focused on finding solutions to climate change.

The award was presented to Mayor Bill Peduto and Chief Resilience Officer Grant Ervin in Glasgow, Scotland, on Wednesday.

The city earned the recognition in the “Achieving Net Zero” category for the Marshall Plan for Middle America, a measure meant to help the region become a global leader in cleaner energy sources. The Marshall Plan for Middle America aims to help ensure that a region that seemed likely to be “left behind in the transition could actually start to lead,” Peduto said when accepting the award.

Through the Marshall Plan for Middle America, Pittsburgh and other participating cities can develop a pathway to new energy goals.

“We never planned to fail, we just failed to plan,” Peduto said, reminiscing on the city’s struggles with deindustrialization. “We don’t want to make that same mistake twice.”

In a brief speech accepting the award on behalf of the city, Peduto highlighted how the Marshall Plan for Middle America attempts to leverage the research and development centers, companies and workers already in the region to collaborate on clean energy initiatives.

“The idea was that we could utilize these companies that have been here for over 100 years, utilize the workers that work 24/7 cycles for these years and utilize these assets that are already in place to make the transference from fossil fuels to renewable energy in the areas that built America once — and do it again,” Peduto said.

He accepted the award alongside Ervin, who said, “It’s really the beginning part of the journey for us.”

The Climate Change Cup is a new international competition that showcases civic research partnerships designed to fight climate change. It brings together experiences from throughout the United States and United Kingdom to create a network of innovators who can help affected communities adapt to climate change or achieve net zero.

Pittsburgh was one of 12 finalists from throughout the two nations.

The award is supported by the United Kingdom’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, along with the City of Glasgow, The Young Foundation, MetroLab Network, UK Science and Innovation Network, Innovate UK, University of Glasgow and Vertigo Ventures.