By Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels
October 23, 2006

As mayors, we are seldom called upon to tackle issues that affect the entire planet. But the threat of global warming and climate disruption brings very real consequences for the communities we are elected to serve.

The “Ah-ha” moment came for me in early 2005. For more than a century, Seattle has relied on snowfall in the nearby Cascade Mountains to provide clean, clear water and to power our hydroelectric dams. But that winter, the snow didn’t come – at times the level was just one percent of normal.

In fact, the average snow pack in our mountains has declined 50 percent over the past 50 years. And if trends continue, it will be cut in half again by 2050. Waiting for the federal government to act was no longer an option.

So on February 16, 2005 – the day the Kyoto Protocol took effect in 141 countries worldwide – I challenged mayors across the country to join with Seattle in pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today, 317 of us (and counting) have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

I’m truly proud of the commitment expressed by so many mayors in so many cities and towns, from the heartland to both coasts. Together we represent 51 million Americans. That’s more than most of the countries that have signed the Kyoto Protocol.

Cities use three-fourths of the world’s energy, and America is by far the biggest emitter of climate-changing pollution. So it’s time to show the world we can power our cities without toasting the planet.

In Seattle, we’re walking the talk on climate protection. Let me share with you some of the things we’ve done and some of the actions we are now taking to get our community to the Kyoto Protocol targets and beyond in the hope that it will help you to meet your own climate protection commitments.

Since 1990, we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions from city operations by 60 percent. That reduction is due in large part to the efforts of Seattle City Light, our publicly-owned power system, which is the first major utility to reach zero net greenhouse gas emissions. On top of that, the city has reduced its fossil fuel use by 12 percent since 1999 though a combination of more efficient hybrid vehicles and increased use of biodiesel.

At the same time I challenged my colleagues with the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, I appointed a local Green Ribbon Commission on Climate Protection to recommend ways the Seattle community as a whole can meet or beat the Kyoto targets of seven percent reductions by 2012.

The commission was made up of leaders from diverse sectors of the community, which gave weight and credibility to the great work the panel produced. The co-chairs had unmatched environmental and business credentials—Denis Hayes is a founder of Earth Day and is president of Seattle-based Bullitt Foundation; Orrin Smith was chief executive of Starbucks Coffee Co. The 18-member commission also had leaders from labor, government and social justice organizations and from businesses devoted to real estate development, retailing, and even cement manufacturing.

We didn’t stop when the commission issued its recommendations last March, though we were honored to have Vice President Al Gore join us to roll out the Green Ribbon Commission report.

In September, I released the Seattle Climate Action Plan, detailing the new investments and actions the city will take to help residents and businesses cut their greenhouse gas emissions at home, at work and on the road. The plan also details steps the city, which employees over 10,000 people, will take to further reduce its climate pollution. You can read a copy of the plan at www.seattle.gov/climate.

The actions range from doubling the city’s marked bicycle lanes, making citywide sidewalk and crosswalk improvements and increasing the use of hybrid and bio-fueled vehicles in city fleets to investing in increased transit service to a regional information campaign designed to educate residents on steps they can take to cut climate pollution.

Underlying the whole plan is the fact that everybody who calls our community home must do their part. That may be especially true of business. That is why I am especially excited about the creation of the Seattle Climate Partnership.

Modeled after the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement as a way for companies to join together in their efforts to cut emissions, the partnership was founded by ten of the leading businesses and institutions in Seattle, including Starbucks, REI Inc., the Port of Seattle and the University of Washington. This group, nurtured by our Office of Sustainability and Environment, has grown to 23 members and plans to create its own organization outside the city government by the end of 2007.

I share all of this because as happy as I am that so many cities have signed—and continue to sign—the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, I believe strongly that it is now all of our responsibility to roll up our sleeves and do the real leadership work: making the decisions and commitments that will help our cities reach the Kyoto targets.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has joined with ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability to offer assistance. They will be making a Climate Protection Handbook available to cities in the coming weeks. I urge you to take advantage of it.

The 2012 deadline for meeting the Kyoto goal is not far away. And, of course, hitting the Kyoto mark is just a start in the long effort to stabilize our climate. The real leadership on this issue in the United States has come from the local level. Let’s keep the momentum going.

Nickels is co-chair of the new U.S. Mayors Council on Climate Protection within the U.S. Conference of Mayors.