By Kevin McCarty
February 11, 2008

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and Carmel (IN) Mayor James Brainard, co-chairs of the Mayors Climate Protection Task Force, convened mayors January 23 to assess progress by Conference members and others in meeting local climate protection goals.

Nickels recognized the many commitments by mayors throughout the U.S. to address the urgency of the nation’s climate protection challenges, announcing that 774 mayors had joined as signatories to the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. He applauded the Conference’s efforts to enact a new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program to support mayors and their climate goals.

In his remarks, Brainard encouraged his colleagues to place more emphasis on smarter transportation and land use practices to deal with greenhouse gas emissions. He highlighted his work in this area, touting his city’s investment in roundabouts as an illustration of what mayors can do to enhance mobility and promote greater energy efficiency. He expects this commitment to roundabouts to save the public about $400,000 each day.

Des Moines (IA) Mayor Frank Cownie talked about the need to measure emission reductions from local climate activities and updated mayors on the status of efforts to develop a Local Government Emissions Protocol to support cities in tracking and recording reductions in greenhouse gases. In addition to improved methods for measurement, explaining that new tools will be available this year, he urged mayors to give updates on what is being achieved by local programs.

Santa Barbara (CA) Mayor Marty Blum reported on her city’s adoption of the first-of-its-kind ordinance for energy efficiency in new buildings, setting forth a national model for all cities seeking to achieve the Conference-adopted 2030 Challenge, calling for carbon neutrality in all new buildings by 2030. Approved in late October, she told Task Force members that the city’s Architecture 2030 Energy Ordinance, which had to be forwarded to the California Energy Commission for approval because it exceeded state standards, reduces energy use by 20 percent for low-rise residential buildings, 15 percent for high-rise residential buildings and ten percent for nonresidential buildings below existing state standards.

The ENERGY STAR Program earned strong praise from Louisville (KY) Mayor Jerry Abramson, who urged mayors to take full advantage of this U.S. EPA initiative to bolster local climate efforts. He reminded his colleagues that you “can do this at no cost” and said that agency officials came to Louisville to join with him, city staff and about 50 business leaders to review “what has worked and not worked.” Touting the success of the one-half day session, Abramson said, “ENERGY STAR gave us the base to get started.”

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez reported on his city’s activities and encouraged the Task Force members to embrace new partnerships to help them achieve their climate goals. Albuquerque’s financial commitments to climate protection, he said, “are supported by dedicating three percent of its capital budget to climate initiatives.” Acknowledging a recent reporting error by a city department, Chávez echoed earlier remarks stating that, “We must be accurate in our data.” As a result, “We are auditing every single thing,” he said.

In discussing partnership issues, Chávez also praised the ENERGY STAR program and cited opportunities to partner with public schools (K-12), the Clinton Climate Initiative, ICLEI and its regional offices, and the private sector, especially on renewable energy development. He indicated that the 2030 Challenge is not integrated fully with LEED standards and that “LEED Silver doesn’t get you there.” Abramson reinforced his message on the need to engage public schools, but also said “don’t miss out on working with your universities.”

Staff of the Conference’s Mayors Climate Protection Center briefly updated Task Force members on activities supporting mayors and their climate programs, indicating the Conference’s work to secure funding for the new energy block grant was the organization’s top priority, along with continuing efforts on surveys, best practices, awards, and development of the Conference/Clinton Climate Initiative partnership, among other activities.

As Chair of the Conference’s Transportation and Communications Committee, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper briefed mayors on key federal legislative activities affecting transportation and climate protection. Calling attention to key provisions in the new energy law, he discussed how the new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant could fund efforts to promote transportation options, such as transit, bicycling and walking, and initiatives to better link land use, development and transportation. He described how the new law allows full federal funding (100 percent federal share) for projects funded by the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program, noting that states have large CMAQ balances, totaling about $3.8 billion. These resources, he said, could be deployed now to support energy reduction and climate-friendly investments in the transportation sector to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Hickenlooper encouraged Task Force Members to engage his Committee’s work in preparing for renewal of the federal surface transportation law (i.e., SAFETEA-LU), specifically to ensure that energy and climate protection concerns are fully reflected in new policy statements adopted by the Conference membership.

Energy Committee Chair Austin Mayor Will Wynn reviewed key energy issues address by his Committee earlier in the day, pointing out that full Senate consideration of “cap and trade” legislation, specifically the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007, was expected to occur as early as March. He also noted his Committee’s review of the International Code Council’s “30% Solution,” a proposed package of code revisions for inclusion in the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which is scheduled for action by Council members in September. He briefly noted his city’s recent efforts to develop a “point of sale” requirement to prompt energy retrofits of existing homes at the time of sale and save homeowners money on their energy costs.