Combating Global
Warming-
Blue Skies, Green Cities
By Niko Kyriakou
21 July, 2005
Inter Press Service
Ignoring inaction at the highest levels
of the U.S. government, 145 mayors across the country have formed a
coalition to combat global warming and begun to reshape their cities
using innovative programs and technologies.
The mayors say they
can make urban living more eco-friendly and at the same time create
jobs and stimulate local economies.
The Kyoto Protocol,
an international treaty calling for reductions in the greenhouse gases
that accelerate climate change, took effect in February. But the United
States, which makes up four percent of the world's population and produces
22 percent of the world's greenhouse gases, did not ratify the treaty.
The George W. Bush
administration opposes Kyoto because officials argue it would raise
energy prices and kill five million U.S. jobs. The administration has
also raised questions about the scientific legitimacy of climate change.
The House of Representatives
and Senate have also done little to stop the Earth from heating up,
the mayors say.
Tired of waiting
for action from federal authorities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors,
as the coalition is called, unanimously agreed last month to implement
aspects of the protocol locally.
A total of 169 U.S.
cities have now agreed to match or better the standards laid out in
the Kyoto Protocol -- which requires industrialized nations to reduce
their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of six percent below 1990
levels by the year 2012 -- through actions such as restoring forests,
reducing urban sprawl, developing alternative energy technologies, and
educating the public.
They have also agreed
to pressure state and federal governments to follow Kyoto's targets,
and to push Congress to pass the bipartisan Climate Stewardship Act,
which would establish a national emissions trading system.
Mayors across
America are making it clear: we're not going to wait for the federal
government to do something to prevent the production of greenhouse gases.
We're going to step up and provide the leadership at the local level,
city by city, said Greg Nickels, the mayor of Seattle.
More than half the
world and 80 percent of the U.S. population live in urban areas, and
cities consume 75 percent of the earth's natural resources, according
to San Francisco's Department of Environment.
Early last week,
45 of the mayors from the coalition, including mayors from Salt Lake
City, Denver and Chicago, met in Utah on the actor Robert Redford's
Sundance ranch to discuss climate change initiatives.
The meeting was
organized by the U.N.-sponsored International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives and funded in part by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Executives from
the British-based consultancy, the Climate Group, said at the meeting
that 17 major U.S. cities had already reduced their emissions below
1990 levels and saved a total of 600 million dollars through efficiency
measures.
You must understand
that tackling climate is financially a competitive advantage, not a
liability, said Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group.
Patrick McCrory,
the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, and head of the Republican mayors'
association, pointed out at the meeting that the coalition of mayors
should be taken seriously because of their economic clout.
We are the
ones building roads, designing mass transit, buying the police cars
and dump trucks and earthmovers. We're the ones lighting up the earth
when you look at those maps from space, he said. Together
we have huge purchasing power, and if we invest wisely, that can have
huge implications for the environment.
Following the three-day
gathering at Redford's 6,000-acre ranch, former U.S. Vice Pres. Al Gore,
who helped draft the Kyoto treaty, addressed the mayors in a meeting
closed to the press.
But last month,
in a public speech to a gathering of mayors from around the world, Gore
revealed a frightening forecast on the impacts of global warming.
Already, record
temperatures are melting the world's glaciers, Gore said. Unless major
action is taken, rising sea-levels could force the evacuation of low-lying
cities such as Calcutta, Shanghai and New York within decades, and powerful
storms, infectious diseases and dangerous heat waves could sweep the
planet.
We are witnessing
a collision between our civilization and the earth, a transformation
of the relationship between our species and the planet, he said.
Is it only terrorists that we're worried about? Is that the only
threat to the future that is worth organizing to respond to?
Gore said most scientists
-- and more and more corporations -- agree that climate change is happening;
what is lacking is the political will to act.
According to the
White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Bush administration
is spending two billion dollars on initiatives to promote clean-coal
technology, hydrogen-powered vehicles, nuclear power and renewable energy.
Bush's energy bill,
which went into effect last month, calls for industry to slow emission
increases, but does not demand an overall reduction.
The House version
of the energy bill, which passed the Senate last month 66-29 with few
changes, increases subsidies to the traditional energy industries.
Out of eight billion
dollars in tax incentives, the House bill allocates 500 million dollars
(6 percent) to increase energy efficiency and develop renewables.
While critics complain
that funding for new projects to counter Gore's warnings are coming
too slowly, cities like Seattle are moving ahead without them, seeking
to turn their cities into prototypes of an environmental enlightenment.
In Utah last week,
Seattle Mayor Nickels, out of 150 other mayors, won the 2005 City
Livability Award for improving his city's quality of life through
the Seattle Climate Protection Initiative.
Key components of
Nickels' Initiative, which lays out a long-term vision of growth based
on environmental values, include transportation initiatives such as
increased development of monorail, light rail, streetcars and bike paths.
Seattle, which has
already been a national leader in recycling, water conservation and
energy efficiency, is also offering incentives to individuals who carpool
or sell their second car, including cash, or limited free use of 130
shared, city-owned cars.
Under Nickels' plan,
Seattle is also increasing the number of hybrid gas-electric, ultra-low
sulfur diesel and bio-diesel vehicles in the city's fleet.
The city is restoring
2,500 acres of urban forest, building municipal facilities following
sustainable building standards, and converting the municipally owned
electric utility, Seattle City Light, to a zero net greenhouse gas emitter.
Seattle's Public
Utilities department, with the help of researchers from the University
of Washington, is studying nearby watersheds to measure local effects
of global warming so as to incorporate climate change information into
the city's long-range water supply planning.
The city also has
hosted workshops on climate change for government officials and appointed
a commission to identify how to best reduce global warming pollution
community-wide.
Thanks to
these programs, Seattle has a cleaner source of electricity, sustainable
buildings, and new economic opportunities, Nickels said after
accepting the award. We're proud to serve as an example to other
cities that you don't have to make a choice between your environment
and your economy. You can improve both.
Seattle cut greenhouse
gas emissions by 48 percent between 1990 and 2000, according to the
city's Office of Sustainability and Environment.
What the U.S. Conference
of Mayors does domestically, the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign
does internationally, also with the support of the U.N.-sponsored International
Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.
Some 650 local governments
have joined the global campaign, including in Australia, Canada, Europe,
Japan, Latin America, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, South Asia,
Southeast Asia, and the United States.
© 2005 IPS