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More Than 900 U.S. Mayors Agree to Kyoto Climate Goals
WASHINGTON, Calif. -- The mayors of Savannah, Ga., Lake Placid, N.Y., and Redondo Beach, Calif., have agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their cities 7 percent below 1990 levels, pushing the number of mayors committing to meet the goals of the Kyoto Protocol past 900.
Mayors of New Egypt, N.J. and Springfield, Ill. also signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement recently, which aims to reduce emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. All told, the mayors signed onto the agreement represent more than 81 million Americans.
"As our nation and metro areas work to reduce carbon emissions, our determination will open new opportunities for clean energy and green jobs," Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said in a statement last week. "For year, we have been asking for a strong federal partner to reduce emissions."
President-elect Barack Obama has already signaled his intent to embark on an aggressive environmental agenda that will both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and jump start a low-carbon economy.
His path to a greener economy appears to have become somewhat smoother when House Representative Henry Waxman overtook Representative John Dingell as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week. Dingell, a Michigan-based Democrat who served as chairman since 1981, was a key ally of the auto industry and was viewed by some as an obstacle of climate change legislation.
A perceived lack of leadership at the federal level led to the creation of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Seattle Mayor Nickels helped to launch it in 2005 with 141 mayors signing the agreement at the time. There are now 902 mayors from cities in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico that have signed on.
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