LA Mayor Garcetti Rallies 'Climate Mayors' To Adopt Paris Goals
MIAMI BEACH, Florida (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti rallied other "Climate Mayors'' to the cause of upholding the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement Saturday at the 85th annual United States Conference of Mayors in Miami Beach, Florida.
Garcetti is the chairman and co-founder of the Climate Mayors, a bipartisan group formed in 2014. The group has taken on added members and an added sense of urgency since President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris agreement earlier this month.
"Since the president withdrew the U.S. from the Paris agreement, mayors in cities across America have come together to say 'enough' -- we will not let the future of our planet be jeopardized by inaction at the top,'' Garcetti said in a statement. "We are committed to carrying the fight against climate change forward in our cities.''
Garcetti was also joined in a ceremonial signing of the Climate Mayors' commitment to adopt the Paris goals in their cities.
In April 2015, Garcetti introduced the city's first ever Sustainable City pLAn, a comprehensive roadmap that lays out measurable long-term goals for efforts like conserving water, creating green jobs, expanding the use of electric vehicles, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2025, and 80 percent by 2050.
Long Beach won first place at the Climate Protection Awards. The awards ceremony was held Saturday in conjunction with the conference. The award recognizes cities for their energy and climate protection efforts.
"By planting thousands of new trees, transitioning our street lights to energy efficient LEDs, and putting zero emission buses on our streets, Long Beach will continue to lead in our efforts to protect our climate," Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said in a satement. "At the U.S. Conference of Mayors, my colleagues are asking me how they can also enact similar programs, and I'm proud our efforts are making Long Beach noticed by the nation."
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