By Erin Wenglekowski
July 16, 2007

On Saturday, June 23 at the Conference of Mayors 75th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, mayors and members of the Mayors’ Business Council came together to discuss climate protection initiatives as well as doing business in cities.

While moderating the breakfast, Las Vegas Mayor and Chair of the Mayors Business Council Oscar B. Goodman pointed to the Conference’s goal to “create a strong and engaged business community inside the organization, sharing and working with us on visions of success to make our cities—and ultimately our nation — economically stronger.” He thanked Conference President, Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer for his “green devotion” by making it a part of his 10 point plan which “has led to more than 500 cities pledging to reduce carbon emissions below their 1990 levels.”

Conference President, Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer provided opening remarks thanking Goodman and Mayor Kilpatrick for their leadership in the Mayors’ Business Council as Chair and Vice-Chair. He then discussed the importance of the nation’s metro economies. Mayor Palmer pointed to the fact that “U.S. metros account for almost all new jobs created during the current economic recovery and account for over 85 percent of labor income and employment.” He then emphasized the importance of mayors and the private sector working closely in the realm of climate protection, stating “climate protection is an even greater area where business and cities can work together to conserve energy, which in turn conserves costs and creates environmentally friendly metro areas.”

Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran, greeted the mayors and business leaders underlining the importance of entrepreneurial mayors, “walking every step of the way with business.” He also recognized platinum partners, as well as the newest members of the Mayors Business & Allied Councils and thanked them all for staying active with the Conference. He went on to introduce a video as part of the 75th Annual Conference celebration series of “defining moments.” The video highlighted the Conference’s International partnerships worldwide.

After Tom Cochran’s greetings, the new 2007–2008 Mayors’ Business Council Steering Committee was announced by Preston V. Lee, Director of Corporate Relations and Housing Outreach, Freddie Mac; the immediate past Co-Chair of the Mayor’s Business Council Steering Committee and present Co-Chair, Lynn Cutler, Senior Policy Advisor, Holland & Knight LLP. The newest Co-Chair, Everett Bass, Vice President, Community Relations and Public Sector Services for Waste Management, Inc. was announced, and Preston V. Lee was then presented with an award of outstanding service as he leaves his 2005–2007 Co-Chair position.

President of Mazria Inc. Odems Dzurec, Mr. Edward Mazria, greeted mayors and business leaders by highlighting climate protection within the nation’s cities and what steps can be taken towards combating environmental changes. He shared the shocking effects of the current trend of global warming, with his presentation entitled “Climate Change: Cities Under Siege.” Mazria spoke of the current problem with both polar ice caps stating they “are shrinking, the ice is melting 3 times faster than our models are projecting.” He then went on to present what these rapid changes in sea level can do to the nation’s coastal cities, emphasizing that “53 percent of all Americans live in or around a coastal city or town.” His model found that even 1 meter sea level change can cause many of the nation’s coastal cities to erode and islands to disappear underwater completely.

Mazria also stressed the importance of the role of clean building, affirming that “buildings consume close to 50 percent of all energy consumption and operating these buildings require 43 percent of total carbon emissions in the United States.” He then commended The U.S. Conference of Mayors for taking the first step by passing the 2030 Challenge targets and said “the next step has to be protecting these efforts of the mayors and cities of this country,” beginning with steps towards making sure “any new coal plant built in the U.S. be ‘clean,’” meaning a plant that captures and stores all CO2 emissions. The session closed with a lively question and answer exchange with both mayors and business leaders.

The Mayors and Business Leaders Breakfast was sponsored by primary sponsor and Platinum Partner The Home Depot Foundation and supporting sponsors, CH2M HILL, DaimlerChrysler and Edison Electric Institute.