1,000th Mayor -- Mesa, AZ Mayor Scott Smith -- Signs The U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels Convenes 60 U.S. Mayors, White House & Cabinet Officials On Recession and "Green" Economic Recovery

SEATTLE, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. Conference of Mayors President Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels today announced that 1,000 mayors, representing more than 86 million Americans, have now signed The U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement -- a landmark pledge for mayors all across the country to take bold action to significantly reduce carbon emissions in cities.

Mesa, AZ Mayor Scott Smith was the 1,000th signatory to sign the Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement, which is in line with Kyoto Protocol standards and calls for reduction in carbon emissions by 7% below 1990 levels. Mayor Nickels, who will lead a delegation of U.S. mayors to support President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton in Copenhagen in December, initially introduced the Agreement to the Conference in February of 2005 with 141 original mayoral signers symbolizing the 141 countries signed onto Kyoto.

Nickels has since led the "green" movement among mayors in this country with summits on alternative vehicles (2006), green buildings (2006) and climate protection (2007). Now, 1,000 mayors representing 86 million Americans are promising to reduce carbon emissions in their cities by 2012.

"Global warming is real and demands our immediate response. It is in our national interest to act now and mayors understand that a successful plan in this country for reducing our energy consumption begins in cities and local communities. We are leading by example in the fight against global warming and representing America to the world," Mayor Nickels said in his remarks.

"I welcome the opportunity to join with 1,000 of my peers in this truly bipartisan effort to improve not only the environment, but our communities and our nation. We may not all agree on specific action points, but we are united in a common goal of responsible environmental stewardship," said Mayor Smith after he signed the agreement.

The announcement of the 1,000th signatory occurred during The U.S. Conference of Mayors Leadership Meeting at the Seattle Westin Hotel, where more than 60 mayors have come together from October 1st to October 3rd to confer with U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims, Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary John Pocari, White House Urban Affairs Office Director Aldofo Carrion, National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske, U.S. Census Bureau Director Dr. Robert Groves, and others on stimulus implementation, climate protection, green jobs creation, and other policies that impact urban America and metropolitan areas.

The mayors' meeting comes on the heels of the introduction of federal climate legislation by California Senator Barbara Boxer and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. Titled The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, the Bill includes the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, a program first conceived by the Conference of Mayors and currently funded in the Stimulus Plan. The Senate bill extends the Block Grants beyond the Stimulus and makes funding available to cities to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, create green jobs and promote greater energy conservation.

Conference CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran applauded the legislation as a means of job creation in cities where the unemployment rate is steadily rising. "Mayors want Washington to know that Main Street America is still hurting. Joblessness has surpassed 10 percent in many cities and we know that many people are struggling. So mayors are excited that this bill will create new green jobs at a time when they are desperately needed. Green jobs and a new green economy are the future of our economic competitiveness."

Mayor Nickels praised the organization of mayors for its successful efforts on the Climate Bill. "We traveled to Washington twice this summer to push for a partnership with the federal government on climate protection, and the Senate has acted in direct response to our calls for support. The Conference has worked long and hard to establish the Block Grant as a cornerstone of our national climate protection strategy, and this climate legislation, including this provision, is a critical component of our effort to empower local officials to make our communities greener, healthier and more sustainable. We urge the Senate to act swiftly to address this global crisis."

During the mayors' meeting, the Conference also released a city-profile report titled, The Power of 86 Million Americans: 1,000 Mayors Committed to Climate Action, that highlights specific actions mayors are taking around the country to meet the goals of the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement (www.usmayors.org). The report includes cities of all sizes in all regions of the country and shows that the mayors' climate protection efforts range from changing city fleets to alternative fuel vehicles, to retrofitting city-owned buildings with energy efficient technology, to collecting methane gas from landfills for electricity use.

"These city profiles show that if anyone knows how to innovate, it is our nation's mayors. Even in the midst of an economic downturn, mayors are identifying ways to fight global warming which also contributes to local budget savings over the long-term," said Mayor Nickels.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,139 such cities in the country today, each represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the Mayor.

A complete list of the mayors attending The U.S. Conference of Mayors Leadership Meeting in Seattle is below:

SEATTLE LEADERSHIP MEETING - ATTENDING MAYORS

Mayor Greg Nickels, Seattle, WA

Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, Burnsville, MN

Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Los Angeles, CA

Mayor Patrick Hays, North Little Rock, AR

Mayor Scott Smith, Mesa, AZ

Mayor Robert E. Walkup, Tucson, AZ

Mayor Bruce Barrows, Cerritos, CA

Mayor Ashley Swearengin, Fresno, CA

Mayor Jennifer Hosterman, Pleasanton, CA

Mayor Dan Skoglund, Rancho Cordova, CA

Mayor Michael Gin, Redondo Beach, CA

Mayor Kevin Johnson, Sacramento, CA

Mayor Miguel A. Pulido, Santa Ana, CA

Mayor Marty Blum, Santa Barbara, CA

Mayor Anthony Santos, San Leandro, CA

Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, West Sacramento, CA

Mayor John Hickenlooper, Denver, CO

Mayor Bill Finch, Bridgeport, CT

Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez, Doral, FL

Mayor Joy Cooper, Hallandale Beach, FL

Mayor Lori C. Moseley, Miramar, FL

Mayor Frank C. Ortis, Pembroke Pines, FL

Mayor John Marks, Tallahassee, FL

Mayor Lois Frankel, West Palm Beach, FL

Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Honolulu, HI

Mayor Charmaine Tavares, Maui, HI

Mayor T.M. Franklin Cownie, Des Moines, IA

Mayor David Pope, Oak Park, IL

Mayor Jim Brainard, Carmel, IN

Mayor Elaine Walker, Bowling Green, KY

Mayor Jerry Abramson, Louisville, KY

Mayor Melvin "Kip" Holden, Baton Rouge, LA

Mayor C. Ray Nagin, New Orleans, LA

Mayor Cedric Glover, Shreveport, LA

Mayor Joseph Curtatone, Somerville, MA

Mayor Brenda L. Lawrence, Southfield, MI

Mayor William Wild, Westland, MI

Mayor Ardell Brede, Rochester, MN

Mayor Darwin Hindman, Columbia, MO

Mayor Francis G. Slay, St. Louis, MO

Mayor William Bell, Durham, NC

Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, Elizabeth, NJ

Mayor Brian Wahler, Piscataway, NJ

Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, Trenton, NJ

Mayor Robert Duffy, Rochester, NY

Mayor Michael B. Coleman, Columbus, OH

Mayor Mick Cornett, Oklahoma City, OK

Mayor Michael A. Nutter, Philadelphia, PA

Mayor David N. Cicilline, Providence, RI

Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Charleston, SC

Mayor Joseph T. Mcelveen, Sumter, SC

Mayor Robert Cluck, Arlington, TX

Mayor Thomas Leppert, Dallas, TX

Mayor Ralph Becker, Salt Lake City, UT

Mayor Grant Degginger, Bellevue, WA

Mayor Dan Pike, Bellingham, WA

Mayor Gary Haakenson, Edmonds, WA

Mayor Mary Verner, Spokane, WA

Mayor Bill Baarsma, Tacoma, WA

Mayor John Dickert, Racine, WI

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors