801 U.S. mayors pledge to fight climate change

801 mayors of cities across the United States have signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ (USCM) Climate Protection Agreement.

The Agreement came to pass in 2005 when the United States failed to sign the Kyoto Treaty. Several cities, citing the importance of actively fighting climate change, decided to agree to the Kyoto guidelines independent of federal adoption.

Since then, adoption of the agreement has been staggering. Still, the USCM represents all cities in the US with populations over 30,000. There are 1,139 such cities in the US today, so some hold-outs remain. Notable cities who haven't signed include Houston, Texas and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Under the agreement, the mayors commit to taking the following actions:

• "Strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in their own communities, through actions ranging from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information campaigns;
• Urge their state governments, and the federal government, to enact policies and programs to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol -- 7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012; and
• Urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation, which would establish a national emission trading system."

View a map of committed cities, or learn more about the agreement at usmayors.org.

Comments

[arduous]

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