Ted Fischer and Judy Sheahan
June 27, 2005

Joined by a panel of experts on topics ranging from clean air to a greenhouse gas'trading market, Charlotte (NC) Mayor Patrick McCrory chaired the Environmental Committee meeting at the 73rd Annual Conference of Mayors Meeting June 11.

McCrory thanked the city of Chicago for their environmental leadership. "Mayor Daley is known and respected by his fellow mayors as being a leader on the issue of the environment whether it is water quality, clean air, brownfields redevelopment or green buildings. It is a pleasure for us to be here to see his accomplishments firsthand," McCrory said.

Dr. Richard Sandor, Chairman and CEO of the Chicago Climate Exchange and world-renowned ecologist, told the committee, "Chicago, other major metropolitan areas and the world's financial markets are going to discover that air and water are the next set of tangible commodities." Related to that, Sandor also outlined the scientific community's warning of rapid increases in the earth's atmosphere caused by human activity and deforestation.

The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is a greenhouse gas trading pilot for emission sources and an offset for projects in North America. The CCX is a self-regulatory, rules'based exchange, designed and governed by organization members. Members have made a voluntary, legally binding commitment to reduce their emission of greenhouse gases by four percent below the average of their 1998-2001 baseline by 2006. Sandor said, "There are currently 100 members of the Chicago Climate Exchange and we are looking for more cities to join and make the organization more helpful to cities with similar needs."

Kate Agasie, Director of the Clean Air Initiative for the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, spoke about the importance of the "Clean Air Counts" program. With repeated violations of the national ambient air quality standard for ground level ozone, Chicago and its metropolitan region has been designated as a non-attainment area. "The result of this designation was the creation of a regional, voluntary air quality improvement program for sources not traditionally targeted by regulation and the Clean Air Counts Campaign," Agasie said.

The Clean Air Counts campaign focused on the issues of regional environmental and economic causes for air quality pollution, and engaged all public and private sectors as representatives in an advisory committee to find a solution for the increasing problems. The committee convened and returned with recommendations that ranged from identifying and targeting constituents, developing a clean air strategy, and testing incentives and messaging that could be used for recruitment to the program. The campaign's main goals are to achieve better air quality, while increasing economic development. Reducing VOC and NOx emissions by five tons per day, and evaluating how target audiences respond to voluntary strategies are also goals of the campaign. For more information on the Clean Air Counts Campaign, go to the website www.cleanaircounts.org.

Kimberly Worthington, Deputy Commissioner for Chicago, gave a briefing regarding the work Chicago is currently doing to redevelop brownfields, improve technology and become more environmentally friendly. Chicago has launched a program called the environmental action agenda in which the city outlines the means and methods it is going to take to achieve its environmental goals. Several examples of city brownfield redevelopment were also mentioned as a part of the city's on-going environmental agenda, including the new state-of-the-art Ford Technology Campus that was built on a Phoenix Award Nominee facility and Millennium Park, which was also a redeveloped brownfield site. For more information on Chicago's Environmental Action Agenda, visit the website www.usmayors.org/uscm/brownfields.

The Environment Committee discussed and passed the following resolutions:

Resolution #56: Permanently Extending and Expanding Federal Brownfields Tax Incentives.

Resolution #57: Preventing and Controlling Aquatic Invasive Species.

Resolution #58: Resolution To Support Adoption of Alternative Project Delivery Methods for Development of Water and Wastewater Infrastructure by Local Governments.

Resolution #51: Endorsing the U. S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

Resolution #54: Comprehensive Solid Waste Disposal Management.

Resolution #59: Supporting the Legal Rights of America's Cities To Review and Approve Solid Waste Management Facilities Within Their Jurisdiction.

Resolution #95: Supporting the Chicago Climate Exchange.

Resolution #96: Increasing Federal Funds to Help Communities Improve Water Infrastructure and Meet Federal Water Mandates.