By Helena Poleo, Press Director for Mayor Manny Diaz
October 13, 2008

Having a front-seat to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world isn’t always the best place to be. Miami sits on the frontline of man-made climate change, which, if allowed to proceed unmitigated, will make living in Miami extremely difficult, if not impossible. Miami is committed to taking action to reduce and halt global climate change, and got one step closer to that goal this past month, when the city commission unanimously approved a resolution adopting the recommendations of MiPlan, the Miami Climate Action Plan. MiPlan sets targets for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent of 2006 levels citywide by 2020 and 25 percent of 2007 levels in city government operations by 2015.

“Over the next century, escalating greenhouse gas emissions threaten to dramatically increase the Earth’s temperatures and raise sea levels, making Miami one of the most vulnerable urban areas in the world,” said U.S. Conference of Mayors President Miami Mayor Manny Diaz. “With this plan we are protecting this city for our children, grandchildren, and many future generations,” he added.

MiPlan plan provides recommendations to achieve these reductions by addressing emissions associated with buildings, energy generation, transportation, and land use. In 2005, Diaz signed the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement, which committed the city to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, and in 2007, the Commission unanimously adopted the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement. In April 2007, the city also created its first Miami Office of Sustainable Initiatives (MSI) with the purpose of monitoring the city’s compliance with the Climate Protection Agreement and other environmental initiatives. One of the first tasks of MSI was to create the city’s first ever Climate Action Plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The plan was officially released in June 2008 during the 76th Annual USCM Meeting in Miami.

With this new plan, Miami joins several other cities around the country, including New York City, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and Chicago. Over the next year, Miami will develop a specific implementation and financing plan for MiPlan. The city will also begin implementation of MiPlan’s Action Items, particularly addressing energy efficiency in existing buildings. A full copy of MiPlan is available online at http://www.miamigov.com/MiPlan.