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'''Type:''' Resolution | |||
'''Status:''' Adopted on 1/18/07 | |||
http:// | '''Source File:''' http://tinyurl.com/242k94 | ||
'''Text:''' | |||
'''RESOLUTION 2007 - 01'''<br> | |||
'''A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SUN VALLEY, IDAHO, ENDORSING THE U.S. MAYORS CLIMATE PROTECTION AGREEMENT''' | |||
'''WHEREAS''', the U.S. Conference of Mayors has previously adopted strong policy resolutions | |||
calling for cities, communities and the federal government to take actions to reduce global | |||
warming pollution; and | |||
'''WHEREAS''', the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the international | |||
community’s most respected assemblage of scientists, has found that climate disruption is a | |||
reality and that human activities are largely responsible for increasing concentrations of global | |||
warming pollution; and | |||
'''WHEREAS''', recent, well-documented impacts of climate disruption include average global sea | |||
level increases of four to eight inches during the 20th century; a forty percent (40%) decline in | |||
Arctic sea-ice thickness; and nine of the ten hottest years on record occurring in the | |||
past decade; and | |||
'''WHEREAS''', climate disruption of the magnitude now predicted by the scientific community will | |||
cause extremely costly disruption of human and natural systems throughout the world including: | |||
increased risk of floods or droughts; sea-level rises that interact with coastal storms to erode | |||
beaches, inundate land, and damage structures; more frequent and extreme heat waves; more | |||
frequent and greater concentrations of smog; and | |||
'''WHEREAS''', on February 16, 2005, the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to address | |||
climate disruption, went into effect in the 141 countries that have ratified it to date; 38 of those | |||
countries are now legally required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on average five point two | |||
percent (5.2%) below 1990 levels by 2012; and | |||
'''WHEREAS''', the United States of America, with less than five percent of the world’s population, is | |||
responsible for producing approximately twenty-five percent (25%)of the world’s global warming | |||
pollutants; and | |||
'''WHEREAS''', the Kyoto Protocol emissions reduction target for the U.S. would have been seven | |||
percent (7%) below 1990 levels by 2012; and | |||
'''WHEREAS''', many leading US companies that have adopted greenhouse gas reduction programs | |||
to demonstrate corporate social responsibility have also publicly expressed preference for the US | |||
to adopt precise and mandatory emissions targets and timetables as a means by which to remain | |||
competitive in the international marketplace, to mitigate financial risk and to promote sound | |||
investment decisions; and | |||
'''WHEREAS''', state and local governments throughout the United States are adopting emission | |||
reduction targets and programs and that this leadership is bipartisan, coming from Republican | |||
and Democratic governors and mayors alike; and | |||
'''WHEREAS''', many cities throughout the nation, both large and small, are reducing global warming | |||
pollutants through programs that provide economic and quality of life benefits such as reduced | |||
energy bills, green space preservation, air quality improvements, reduced traffic congestion, | |||
improved transportation choices, and economic development and job creation through energy | |||
conservation and new energy technologies; and | |||
'''WHEREAS''', mayors from around the nation have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection | |||
Agreement which, as amended at the 73rd Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting, reads: | |||
A. We urge the federal government and state governments to enact policies and programs to | |||
meet or beat the target of reducing global warming pollution levels to 7 percent below 1990 levels | |||
by 2012, including efforts to: reduce the United States’ dependence on fossil fuels and accelerate | |||
the development of clean, economical energy resources and fuel-efficient technologies such as | |||
conservation, methane recovery for energy generation, waste to energy, wind and solar energy, | |||
fuel cells, efficient motor vehicles, and biofuels; | |||
B. We urge the U.S. Congress to pass bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation that | |||
includes: | |||
1) Clear timetables and emissions limits, and | |||
2) A flexible, market-based system of tradable allowances among emitting industries; and | |||
C. We will strive to meet or exceed Kyoto Protocol targets for reducing global warming pollution | |||
by taking actions in our own operations and communities such as: | |||
1. Inventory global warming emissions in City operations and in the community, set | |||
reduction targets and create an action plan. | |||
2. Adopt and enforce land-use policies that reduce sprawl, preserve open space, and | |||
create compact, walkable urban communities; | |||
3. Promote transportation options such as bicycle trails, commute trip reduction | |||
programs, incentives for car pooling and public transit; | |||
4. Increase the use of clean, alternative energy by, for example, investing in “green tags”, | |||
advocating for the development of renewable energy resources, recovering landfill | |||
methane for energy production, and supporting the use of waste to energy technology; | |||
5. Make energy efficiency a priority through building code improvements, retrofitting city | |||
facilities with energy efficient lighting and urging employees to conserve energy and save | |||
money; | |||
6. Purchase only Energy Star equipment and appliances for City use; | |||
7. Practice and promote sustainable building practices using the U.S. Green Building | |||
Council's International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (LEED) program or a | |||
similar system; | |||
8. Increase the average fuel efficiency of municipal fleet vehicles; reduce the number of | |||
vehicles; launch an employee education program including anti-idling messages; convert | |||
diesel vehicles to bio-diesel; | |||
9. Evaluate opportunities to increase pump efficiency in water and wastewater systems; | |||
recover wastewater treatment methane for energy production; | |||
10. Increase recycling rates in City operations and in the community; | |||
11. Maintain healthy urban forests; promote tree planting to increase shading and to | |||
absorb CO2; and | |||
12. Help educate the public, schools, other jurisdictions, professional associations, | |||
business and industry about reducing global warming pollution. | |||
'''NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED''' that The U.S. Conference of Mayors endorses the U.S. | |||
Mayors Climate Protection Agreement as amended by the 73rd annual U.S. Conference of | |||
Mayors meeting and urges mayors from around the nation to join this effort. | |||
'''BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED''', The U.S. Conference of Mayors will work in conjunction with | |||
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Local Governments for | |||
Sustainability and other appropriate organizations to track progress and implementation of the | |||
U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement as amended by the 73rd annual U.S. Conference of | |||
Mayors meeting. |