The Cool Block Program is developed to create more planet-friendly, disaster-resilient, and community-rich blocks within our City. Climate scientists tell us we must act now to avoid irreversible ecological tipping points and the worst effects of climate change. To achieve this, we need a climate moonshot strategy.

The City of Irvine was chosen as one of three cities to participate in the Cool City Challenge to create this climate moonshot strategy — an ambitious, exploratory, and ground-breaking approach to reach community wide and inclusive sustainability.

Irvine joins the cities of Los Angeles and Petaluma as awardees in the innovative new Cool City Challenge (CCC) initiative. The CCC is a competition among California cities to develop the most innovative pathways to carbon neutrality, including the Cool Block program which requires recruitment of 200 Cool Block team leaders to lead their neighbors through a shared learning program to improve sustainability and quality of life in their own neighborhoods, with an eye toward rapid expansion across the city.