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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Nickels Meets 141-City Goal for Climate Change Agreement
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
5/18/2005 1:00:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Office of the Mayor (206) 684-4000
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Nickels Meets 141-City Goal for Climate Change Agreement
Three months after Kyoto Protocol went into effect, 141 cities band together
to find
local solutions to global climate disruption
SEATTLE-Three months after issuing his “Kyoto Challenge,” Mayor Greg Nickels announced that 141 cities-a number equal to the number of countries who signed the Kyoto Protocol- have signed on to his U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Nickels will lead this coalition in bringing an urban climate protection resolution to June’s Conference of Mayors meeting.
Lexington, Ky., was the 141st city.
“When I announced my intention to encourage local leadership on climate change, I got a good response in Seattle,” Nickels said. “What I didn’t expect was the response I got from all over the country. Republican and Democratic mayors, red and blue states, the coasts and the heartland-cities all over are realizing the high cost of climate disruption.”
On February 16, the Kyoto Protocol went into effect in 141 countries and Mayor Greg Nickels announced that Seattle would commit to meeting the goals of the agreement and that he will challenge cities across the United States to do the same. Since that time, he has been reaching out to the mayors of cities of all sizes to encourage them to provide local action.
"The mayors understand the enormous costs of climate change--for human health, community well being, and municipal infrastructure--if we fail to act decisively to curb our heat-trapping emissions," said Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“We’re trying to do two things with the climate change agreement,” Nickels said. “The first is to generate local strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions. The second is to show support for these issues at the local level so that national leaders have the political support they need to do their part.”
Nickels said his campaign has been warmly received by mayors across the country who are aware of the high cost of climate disruption and the need for local solutions and action.
One of the most powerful reasons for joining Mayor Nickels coalition came New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin. Nagin told the New York Times that he joined the coalition because a projected rise in sea levels "threatens the very existence of New Orleans."
“It’s inevitable that we’ll need to take action on greenhouse gases,” Nickels said. “The longer we wait, the more draconian those measures will have to be.”
For more details about the mayor's climate protection strategy and the 2005 Environmental Action Agenda, visit www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor's inside view on initiatives to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm.
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Office of the Mayor
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