Over the next five years, North Carolina will receive $171 million to cut carbon emissions from the transportation sector, thanks to last year’s bipartisan infrastructure law. Some of that funding is already allocated to cities around the state.

“As the sector generating the most carbon emissions in the U.S. economy, transportation must play a leading role in solving the climate crisis,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The Carbon Reduction Program will help reduce pollution … and move us closer to the President’s ambitious goal of cutting emissions in half by 2030.”

Examples of eligible projects include switching to electric vehicles, and alternative transportation projects like bus rapid transit corridors and bicycle networks and programs. While the total amount of funding available through this program is modest compared to the need, it can help to jump-start local planning in the right direction, or leverage other available funds to take action now.