More Than 900 Mayors Join Climate Protection Agreement

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States Conference of Mayors announced today that more than 900 mayors have signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, a significant milestone in the national campaign of cities to reduce global warming.

"With a new Administration that has already committed to make climate protection a priority, we look forward to working with President-elect Barack Obama to help these 900 + cities reach the goal set forth by the Kyoto Protocol," said Conference President Miami Mayor Manny Diaz.

"As our nation and metro areas work to reduce carbon emissions, our determination will open new opportunities for clean energy and green jobs," saidSeattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Vice President of the Conference who launched the effort three years ago. The milestone of 900 mayors signing the agreement comes as President-elect Barack Obama issued a major policy statement on global warming. "For years, we have been asking for a strong federal partner to reduce carbon emissions," added Nickels.

On Feb. 16, 2005, the day the Kyoto Protocol went into effect for 141 nations around the world but notthe United States, Mayor Nickels called on his fellow mayors across the country to meetKyoto's emission reduction goals.

"Many hundreds of cities committed to do their part and are already taking local actions to save our planet, we're looking forward to working with the new Administration and leaders inWashington to work together to curb global warming," said Tom Cochran, CEO & Executive Director of the Conference.

The mayors ofNew Egypt, N.J.,Savannah, Ga.,Lake Placid, N.Y.,Springfield, Ill., andRedondo Beach, Calif., are among the latest to sign the agreement, in which cities pledge to reduce carbon emissions by seven percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The Mayors Climate Protection Agreement now represents more than 81 million Americans.

In addition to the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement,Seattle Mayor Nickels spearheaded an effort to create a larger federal climate policy framework in June 2007. This past year, Nickels championed a resolution establishing city priorities in a federal cap-and-trade system that embraced 80 percent reductions of global warming pollution from 1990 levels by 2050 as the appropriate and necessary national goal, and urged the federal government to act quickly to enact cap-and-trade legislation.

The United States Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,139 such cities in the country today. Each city is represented in the conference by its mayor.Miami Mayor Manual A. Diaz, serves as president. Mayor Nickels currently serves as vice president. For more information about the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, go to: http://www.usmayors.org/climateprotection/agreement.htm

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors

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