By Katie Logisz
May 23, 2005

Stamford (CT) Mayor Dannel Malloy and the city of Stamford have been selected to receive a 2005 Climate Champion Award from Clean Air-Cool Planet. The organization hails Stamford as "truly leading by example." The city is one of six recipients to be awarded at Clean Air-Cool Planet's Global Warming Solutions 2005 conference to be held June 8-9 in New York City. Stamford is the only city to receive a 2005 award. Other recipients include Maine Governor John Baldacci, New York Governor George Pataki, Timberland CEO Jeffrey Swartz, Middlebury College President Ronald Liebowitz, and Bank of America.

Clean Air-Cool Planet recognizes the city of Stamford as a long'time leader on energy efficiency, establishing a full'time energy manager, and achieving savings of over $1.1 million taxpayer dollars annually, as well as having reduced the emissions of heat'trapping gases from public operations of close to 6,000 tons per year. Stamford also recognized the importance of leveraging this efficiency work with local climate protection efforts, including a local action plan to reduce emissions by 20 percent from 1998 to 2018.

Stamford has begun developing a system of bike/pedestrian trails as well as the Stamford Urban Transitway project which will improve access to the Stamford Inter-modal Transportation Center, alleviating traffic congestion and reducing pollution on both the North State Street and South State Street corridors. This award commends Stamford for acknowledging by these actions that alternatives to road widening must be sought in order to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

In addition to receiving the award in June, representatives from Stamford will travel with a group of municipal officials from Boston and New York City for a three day study trip to Toronto to share and learn from each city's climate protection efforts. Clean Air-Cool Planet works in partnership with campuses, corporations, and communities across the Northeast to implement solutions to climate change and build constituencies for effective climate policies and actions. The organization showcases practical climate solutions that demonstrate the economic opportunities and environmental benefits associated with early actions on climate change, as well as advocates the implementation of effective policy solutions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the state and regional levels.