Bridgeport, CT– Today, Mayor Ganim was awarded the 2024 Mayors’ Climate Protection Award at the 92^nd U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Annual Meeting. The Mayors’ Climate Protection Award was given to a total of thirteen mayors for outstanding leadership in combatting climate change and its impact on cities throughout the nation. This year’s round of award-winning mayors is a part of the 18^th class to be honored by the USCM for local actions that reduce each city’s carbon footprint, which includes Mayor Ganim’s initiative to decommission Bridgeport’s coal-fired power plant.

Coal plants are unanimously the crudest fossil fuel and serve as a huge threat to climate change. Because of this, the City of Bridgeport and PSEG have decommissioned the last coal-fired power plant in New England in 2021. The once operational power plant provided energy to over 50,000 homes and businesses beyond Bridgeport during its tenure yet raised immediate environmental and public health concerns in the local areas of the City. Since decommissioning the power plant, Bridgeport’s greenhouse gas emissions have significantly reduced, leading to a domino effect of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the New England region.

In 2023, the City had also received grant funding to demolish the coal plant structure with the intention to develop the 33-acre waterfront space. Plans for mixed-use waterfront development are on Bridgeport’s horizon, as this area of the City’s harbor will create jobs, housing, and tax revenue for the City.

“I want to thank the U.S. Conference of Mayors for recognizing the commitment we’ve made to creating cleaner energy in Bridgeport,” stated Mayor Ganim. “We’re humbled by the recognition we received for working to decommission the coal-fired power plant, as this serves as a large milestone in Bridgeport’s sustainability efforts. We’re thrilled to gain full access to this waterfront space once the coal plant is demolished as we plan to strengthen Bridgeport not only through our resiliency, but also with the amount of housing and job opportunities to come from this area of our waterfront.”