 |
City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
|
NEWS ADVISORY
|
| SUBJECT: Mayor Launches Major Drive for Immediate Federal Climate Action
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
1/25/2007 11:15:00 AM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Office of the Mayor (206) 684-4000
|
Mayor Launches Major Drive for
Immediate Federal Climate Action
Nickels and Colleagues Launch Campaign
to Create a “Climate of Change” in
Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels today joined with colleagues
from across the nation to begin an unprecedented campaign to achieve meaningful
federal action to combat climate change.
Speaking at a news conference at the annual winter meeting of the U.S. Conference
of Mayors, Nickels announced the Mayors Climate Campaign 2007, which will press
the 110th Congress to:
- Fund an Energy and Environmental Block Grant of $4 billion to help
cities combat global warming by increasing community energy efficiency;
- Establish a national cap on greenhouse gas emissions and a flexible
market-based system of tradable allowances for emitting industries; and
- Pass climate-friendly energy and transportation policies.
“Change is in the air and the time to act is now,” said Mayor
Nickels. “In Seattle, where our electric utility is carbon neutral, we
are showing that you can power a city without toasting a planet. Now we need
our leaders in Washington to step up to the aggressive but achievable goal
of cutting emissions 80 percent nationwide by 2050.”
Nickels and nine other mayors started the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement
in February 2005. To date, 376 mayors from all 50 states plus the District
of Columbia, representing more than 56.4 million Americans, have signed the
pledge to take action to cut local emissions in line with the Kyoto Protocols
and to press Congress for leadership. The agreement has been unanimously endorsed
by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
“Cities are on the frontlines of climate change with mayors leading
the way,” said Conference of Mayors President and Trenton, N.J., Mayor
Douglas H. Palmer. “But we can’t do it alone. We need the federal
government to be a real partner with us on the issues of climate protection
and achieving energy independence. That is why we are proposing an Energy and
Environmental Block Grant.”
Cities are leading the charge with innovative programs to fight global warming
without any support from the federal government. A few examples:
- Seattle’s city owned electric utility, Seattle City Light, is
the first power company in the nation to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
It has done it through conservation, using renewable power sources and investing
in mostly local carbon-offset programs.
- Austin, Texas, Mayor Will Wynn is promoting wind energy and plug-in
hybrids.
- Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Patrick McCrory is building mass transit and
engaging his community on smart land use planning.
- Carmel, Ind., Mayor James Brainard is promoting fuel efficiency, hydrogen
cars, and massive tree plantings.
Joining the mayors today was U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), senior
member of the House Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources Committees.
“I believe the Congressional climate for climate change legislation
has fundamentally improved as a result of the November elections,” Markey
said. “Now is the time for action to halt the generation of greenhouse
gases before we reach the tipping point of an irreversible climate catastrophe.
State and local governments have been leading the way on many of these issues
in recent years. Now we have the ability to move forward on global warming
and energy independence in the Congress as well.”
In a show of overwhelming support, hundreds of mayors joined today’s
announcement, many of them sporting green “I Signed It” buttons,
reflecting their pledges to cut emissions and address the monumental threat
climate change poses to the world.
For more information on the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, go to:
www.seattle.gov/mayor/climate.
Download
a map of US Cites participating in the Climate Protection Agreement -
Acrobat PDF 170 kb
- 30 -
Office of the Mayor
| 
