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A Commitment in Writing:
Decatur Signs Climate Protection Agreement
by Gary P. Garrett
Joining the mayors of more than 800 other cities in the United States, Mayor Bill Floyd and the City Commission signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in 2007. It commits the City of Decatur to act on behalf of its citizenry to take proactive steps to intentionally reduce its level of greenhouse gas emissions consistent with reductions set forth in the Kyoto Protocol.
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels began the initiative on the effective day of the Kyoto Protocol and it was endorsed by the 73rd Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2005. Seven other cities in Georgia, including Atlanta, Alpharetta, East Point and Athens, have also joined the agreement.
The agreement is being enacted by cities throughout the country in efforts to also reduce the United States’ dependence on fossil fuels and accelerate the development of clean, economical energy resources and fuel-efficient technologies such as conservation, methane recovery for energy generation, waste to energy, wind and solar energy, fuel cells, efficient motor vehicles, and biofuels.
The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement puts forward the need to reduce the production of greenhouse gas emissions in 12 principal areas. These include a commitment to the following statement:
We will strive to meet or exceed Kyoto Protocol targets for reducing global warming pollution by taking actions such as these in our own operations and communities:
1. Inventory global warming emissions in city operations and in the community, set reduction targets and create an action plan;
2. Adopt and enforce land-use policies that reduce sprawl, preserve open space, and create compact, walkable urban communities;
3. Promote transportation options such as bicycle trails, commute trip reduction programs, incentives for car pooling and public transit;
4. Increase the use of clean alternative energy by, for example, investing in green tags (renewable energy credits), advocating for the development of renewable energy resources, recovering landfill methane for energy production, and supporting the use of waste to energy technology;
5. Make energy efficiency a priority through building code improvements, retrofitting city facilities with energy efficient lighting and urging employees to conserve energy and save money;
6. Purchase only Energy Star equipment and appliances for city use;
7. Practice and promote sustainable building practices using the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program or a similar system;
8. Increase the average fuel efficiency of municipal fleet vehicles; reduce the number of vehicles; launch an employee education program including anti-idling messages; convert diesel vehicles to bio-diesel;
9. Evaluate opportunities to increase pump efficiency in water and wastewater systems; recover wastewater treatment methane for energy production;
10. Increase recycling rates in city operations and in the community;
11. Maintain healthy urban forests; promote tree planting to increase shading and to absorb CO2; and
12. Help educate the public, schools, other jurisdictions, professional associations, business and industry about reducing global warming pollution.
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