Edmonds, WA Joining the ICLEI Cities for Climate Campaign

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Type: Resolution

Status: Adopted on 9/18/06

Source File: http://www.ci.edmonds.wa.us/resolutions/2006/Reso1130.pdf

Text:

Resolution No. 1130
Membership into ICLEI Cities for Climate Campaign Participation

WHEREAS, Scientific consensus has determined the CO2 and other greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere have a profound effect on the Earth’s climate; and

WHEREAS, in 2006 the U.S. National Climate Data Center confirmed clear evidence of human influences on climate due to changes in greenhouse gases; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors endorsed the 2005 U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement initiated by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and signed by 238 mayors in the United States as of June 2006; and

WHEREAS, the Urban Environmental Accords adopted by local government delegates during UN World Environment Day 2005 call for reduced emissions through energy efficiency, land-use and transportation planning, waste reduction, and wiser energy management; and

WHEREAS, in 2003 the American Geophysical Union adopted a statement noting that human activities are increasingly altering the Earth’s climate and that natural influences cannot explain the rapid increase in near-surface temperatures observed during the second half of the 20th Century; and

WHEREAS, in 2001 the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reviewed and declared global warming a real problem caused in part by the actions of humankind; and

WHEREAS, the 2001 Third Assessment Report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the 2000 U.S. Global Change Research Program’s (USGCRP) First National Assessment indicate that global warming has begun; and

WHEREAS, 162 countries including the United States pledged under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions; and

WHEREAS, energy consumption, specifically the burning of fossil fuels, accounts for more than 80 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions; and

WHEREAS, local government actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency provide multiple local benefits by decreasing air pollution, creating jobs, reducing energy expenditures, and saving money for the local government, its business, and its residents; and

WHEREAS, the Cites of Climate Protection Campaign sponsored by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability has invited the city of Edmonds to join ICLEI and become a partner in the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign.

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the city of Edmonds will join ICLEI as a full member and participate in the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign and, as a participant, pledges to take a leadership role in promoting public awareness about the causes and impacts of climate change.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the city of Edmonds will undertake the Citied for Climate Protection Campaign’s five milestones to reduce both greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions throughout the community, and specifically:

  • Conduct greenhouse gas emissions inventory and forecast to determine the source and quantity of greenhouse gas emissions in the city
  • Establish a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target
  • Develop an action plan with both existing and future actions that when implemented will meet the local greenhouse gas reduction target
  • Implement the action plan
  • Monitor and report progress.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the city of Edmonds requests assistance from ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection Campaign as it progresses through the milestones.