U.S. Mayors Respond to Washington Leadership Vacuum on Climate Change

May 03, 2006 — By Earth Policy Institute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — "Recognizing that global warming may fast be approaching the point of no return and that the world cannot wait for the U.S. government to act, hundreds of U.S. city mayors have pledged to cut emissions of greenhouse gases. By signing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, these mayors - representing some 44 million Americans - have committed their cities to meet or beat the U.S. emissions reduction target in the Kyoto Protocol, despite the federal government's refusal to ratify that treaty," says Janet Larsen of the Earth Policy Institute. (See www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2006/Update53.htm.)

This grassroots political revolution, spearheaded by Greg Nickels, Mayor of Seattle, Washington, and endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, responds to the mounting concerns of the American people. It calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. As Burlington, Vermont, Mayor Peter Clavelle noted: "We can't wait for this vacuum of leadership to fill."

Since February 16, 2005, when the Kyoto Protocol came into effect for the 141 ratifying countries, 227 U.S. cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, have joined the mayors' agreement. The Northeast, the Great Lakes Region, and the West Coast are particularly well represented, and the list keeps growing. (See map and additional data at www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2006/Update53_data.htm.)

The group includes communities with an eye on global problems and those concerned about local climate-related impacts. For example, a dozen coastal Florida cities that risk destruction from storms and rising seas have signed on. Even before Hurricane Katrina, Mayor Ray Nagin noted a similar concern regarding New Orleans, stating "the rise of the Earth's temperature, causing sea level increases that could add up to one foot [30.5 centimeters] over the next 30 years, threatens the very existence of New Orleans".

The cities' action plans vary in content and completeness, but the common refrains include increasing automobile efficiency, improving public transportation systems, curbing sprawl, and encouraging walking and cycling. The plans emphasize using and generating electricity more efficiently, with renewable energy sources playing a prominent role.

Seattle's pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions translates into an annual cut of 683,000 tons, the equivalent of retiring some 148,000 cars each year. In March 2006, the Mayor's Green Ribbon Commission made numerous recommendations on how to achieve this goal. The local role model is the municipal government, which has already slashed carbon emissions from city operations to more than 60 percent below 1990 levels. This was achieved in part by switching a share of the government fleet to hybrid-electric vehicles. By cutting fleet fuel use by 7 percent between 1999 and 2005, the city saved at least $300,000 a year.

Additional Green Ribbon Commission recommendations include :

• improve energy efficiency in buildings and require new housing to be energy-efficient.
• reduce automobile dependence by broadening the availability of "frequent, reliable, and convenient public transportation" funded in part by new regional toll roads and a new commercial parking tax.
• encourage car sharing.
• add bike lanes and trails.
• improve sidewalks and crossings.
• develop "compact, green, urban neighborhoods" built for people, not cars.
• set tailpipe limits on car pollution (as now required under the California "clean car standards" adopted by Washington State in 2005)
• encourage greater use of biofuels.
• use rooftop solar energy systems and heat pump water heaters.
• implement pay-as-you-drive insurance to discourage unnecessary driving
• encourage the use of plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles that can run on electricity (preferably produced by renewable sources) for short trips - virtually an 80+ mile-per-gallon car.