350 Pittsburgh

At the start of this new decade, American cities, states and businesses already have come a long way on the road to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to help tackle the climate crisis:

• 155 cities have committed to 100 percent community-wide renewable energy;
• 15 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have official targets to get over 50 percent of their electricity from clean resources;
• Businesses are going beyond merely purchasing renewable energy to investing in battery storage, pairing electric vehicle charging with renewables and matching energy consumption to renewable resources (PDF) on an hourly basis, and
• Many of the largest investor-owned utilities have set decarbonization goals and committed to a clean energy transition.

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Here are a few energy trends in U.S. cities to watch in 2020:

1. Cities will sign unprecedented utility-scale clean energy deals

2. Cities will work with businesses to cut carbon emissions

3. Cities will band together to overcome barriers to clean energy

4. Cities will explore new channels to influence their energy future