U.S. Mayors Announce New National Drive For 100% Clean Energy

Mayors from across the United States joined with the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign to announce a new effort to engage and recruit mayors to endorse a goal of transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy in cities across the country.Ahead of the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Miami Beach in June, the launch of Mayors for 100% Clean Energy aims to demonstrate bold local leadership and showcase the depth and breadth of support from city leaders for a transition to 100 percent renewable energy.

The new Mayors for 100% Clean Energy initiative is co-chaired by Mayor Philip Levine of Miami Beach, Mayor Jackie Biskupski of Salt Lake City, Mayor Kevin Faulconer of San Diego, and Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin of Columbia, South Carolina. Mayor Benjamin is also a Vice President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

“As mayor of Miami Beach, I am proud to support a vision of 100 percent clean energy for my community.  Our vibrant, historic city will be a model for other communities around the world on the importance of addressing the threat of climate change. We have already taken steps to expand renewable energy and we will continue to improve our infrastructure and innovate clean energy solutions for a stronger Miami Beach,” said Mayor Philip Levine of Miami Beach, Florida.  “Climate change may be the challenge of our generation, but it is also the opportunity of a lifetime. The transition to clean and renewable energy will both help Miami Beach confront climate change and strengthen our local economy. Cities can lead the way and, as Co-Chair of Mayors for 100% Clean Energy I am honored to stand with mayors across the country in supporting 100 percent clean energy.”

“We can’t ignore climate change because climate change is not ignoring us,” said Mayor Jackie Biskupski of Salt Lake City. “Our city is warming at twice the global average. Among many other risks, we face water shortages, decreased snowpack, and threats to our $1 billion ski industry. Cities must adapt to cope with these threats, and that’s also why we must take action to mitigate them. Salt Lake City has set the ambitious but achievable goals of generating 100 percent of the community’s electricity supply from renewable energy by 2032, followed by an 80 percent reduction in community greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Cities account for three quarters of humanity’s overall emissions and we have the tremendous ability to make a difference on this issue. I urge all of my colleagues in local government to join with me and our other champions in committing to 100 percent clean energy.”

“Clean energy isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do,” said San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “In San Diego, we brought business and environmental groups together to advance a goal of 100 percent renewable energy. Since then, San Diego has become the nation’s top ranking city in solar energy capacity. We’re going green not only because it supports clean air and water, but because it supports our 21st century economy. It makes sense for mayors across the country to work together because when we talk about the future of our planet, we’re talking about the future of our communities. As a city known around the world for its beautiful environment, we look forward to showing the world how to protect it.”

“We are blessed to have a planet of abundant resources, and a number of those resources are renewable,” said Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin of Columbia, South Carolina. “It’s up to us as leaders to creatively implement clean energy solutions for our cities across the nation. It’s not merely an option now; it’s imperative.”

Mayoral leadership has been a powerful driver of city-wide action on climate change and clean energy in municipalities across the United States. The Mayors National Climate Action Agenda or Climate Mayors founded by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, recently released an electric vehicle request-for-information to demonstrate demand to automakers for nearly 115,00 vehicles that could be electrified in 30 cities.

Now the Co-Chairs of Mayors for 100% Clean Energy, a number of whom are Climate Mayors, are further demonstrating their commitment to lead nationally on the shared challenge of reducing climate pollution and contributing to Climate Mayors’ framework of local leadership and action.

“Cities are on the front lines of the fight against climate change, and we are leading the way toward solutions to our greatest environmental challenges,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, chair of the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda. “I applaud my fellow Climate Mayors Benjamin, Biskupski, and Levine along with my California colleague Mayor Faulconer for driving the Mayors For 100% Clean Energy forward. This initiative shows what can be accomplished when we work together to reduce our emissions, and influence climate policy around the world.”
“Mayors can lead our nation toward a healthier, stronger and more prosperous country by championing a vision of 100 percent clean, renewable energy in their communities. Cities don’t need to wait for Washington, D.C. to act in order to move the ball forward on clean energy,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. “The Sierra Club applauds those mayors who have already endorsed a goal of 100 percent clean energy and we look forward to working with local leaders in cities across the country to accelerate the transition away from dirty fuels to clean and renewable sources of energy.”

Twenty-six cities across the United States have now committed to transition to 100 percent clean and renewable energy. This growing list of cities most recently includes South Lake Tahoe, California, which last week unanimously voted to transition entirely to renewable energy by 2032. Other big cities including Los Angeles and Denver are studying pathways to 100 percent clean energy. Earlier this month, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a commitment to transition Chicago municipal buildings and operations to 100 percent clean and renewable energy by 2025.

 

The Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign is a new national campaign launched in 2016 working to accelerate a just and equitable transition to 100 percent clean energy in the United States. Ready for 100 is campaigning to get 100 cities in the United States to move away from dirty, outdated fossil fuels and to commit to 100 percent clean energy.

The Climate Mayors (the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda)– founded by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter — are 86 U.S. mayors in red states and blue states working together to strengthen local efforts for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to supporting efforts for binding federal and global-level policymaking. For more information visit www.climate-mayors.org or follow @climatemayors on Twitter.