PROVIDENCE — In a political environment where federal officials — and even some Rhode Island officials — have proposed rolling back climate funding and resources, others are deciding it’s time to double down.

May Brett Smiley announced April 7 that city officials were creating Providence’s first green revolving fund. Starting with seed money of $3 million, the fund will be used for municipal projects that push the city further toward achieving net-zero emissions in city-owned buildings by 2040.

The fund was a joint collaboration between the mayor’s office and City Council; its passage by the council as an ordinance will be required to create the fund. City Council President Rachel Miller and Ward 3 council member Sue AnderBois are both backing the ordinance, with AnderBois slated to introduce it later this month.

“This city will not backpedal in our efforts to reduce carbon emissions in buildings,” Smiley said at a launch event by Roger William Park’s Carriage House.

While the announcement was near the Carriage House, it was the two park maintenance buildings adjacent to the historic structure that were the stars of the show. City-owned buildings like those, said Smiley, were prime candidates for rooftop solar; the kind of project that could be paid for, at least in part, by the new green revolving fund.

For city officials, time is of the essence. Since assuming power early last year, the Trump administration has been on an old-fashioned rollback spree, rescinding many of the Biden-era federal programs, incentives, rebates, and tax credits associated with renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Providence officials hope to capitalize on the remaining federal dollars available for such projects, before they expire at the end of next year. Any savings, rebates or other financial incentives recouped by the city will go straight back into the green revolving fund, giving it a source of revenue.

“We’re going to get polluting boilers out, we’re making investments in energy efficiency and renewables,” AnderBois said. “We’re going to stabilize our energy rates, and we’re going to save taxpayers money while supporting good union jobs.”

The city’s announcement comes as even deep-blue Rhode Island is proposing slashing and capping its energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. In a bid to reduce energy bills by any amount, Gov. Dan McKee proposed a state budget that would cap and slash the climate programs that are paid for by charges on monthly utility bills.

The governor’s proposal would save ratepayers an estimated $1 billion over the next five years, and each household would save $180 annually, or $15 a month.

The proposal has been unpopular with environmental groups, but popular with the vocal conservative contingent within the General Assembly seeking to “right-size” the programs and roll back the Act on Climate law.

Meanwhile, for Providence officials, the revolving fund is the next step in the city’s steady march toward sustainability. It was only two years ago that the city set a goal of turning all 130 city-owned buildings carbon neutral by the end of the next decade.

Smiley’s announcement also included the debut of a new decarbonization plan, which outlines how the city will reach its ambitious 2040 goal.

“This is not an aspirational goal, but this is a clear target that we are on track to meet, and we have a very clear road map to get there,” he said.

The city also operates its own Building Energy Reporting Ordinance (BERO) program, which requires property owners with buildings greater than 25,000 square feet to track their energy usage. To date, only city-owned buildings have been required to report their energy usage, with private property owners being phased in starting this year.

The city’s Sustainability Office, since inaugurating the program, has inventoried the city’s large buildings, and Smiley said the city had reduced their total energy usage by 7%.

Providence has 22 electrification projects, meaning new or updated with heat pumps, completed or ongoing in city-owned buildings, accounting for 22% of the city’s square footage in its building portfolio.

Smiley said some 60 city-owned buildings have had energy efficiency audits, resulting in $3.2 million of utility incentives, and the city would have enough rooftop solar installed by the end of year to generate 1.4 megawatts of electricity.

“This is a point of pride for us here at Providence. We are not only great at writing plans, we then use the plans and we keep them alive,” he said.