Carbondale Signs US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement

Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole has joined other mayors across the US that have signed the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement (MCPA). As of February 1, 2007, 393 communities that have signed the agreement have pledged to:

• Strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in their own communities, through actions ranging from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information campaigns;


• Urge their state governments, and the federal government, to enact policies and programs to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol -- 7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012; and


• Urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation, which would establish a national emission trading system

The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the professional membership organization representing the interests of thousands of US cities. On June 13, 2005, the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement was passed unanimously by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The following are some of the downstate members of the USCM: Carbondale, Marion, Cahokia, Centralia, DuQuoin, Edwardsville, Herrin, Mt. Vernon, and Swansea.

The USCM has established their own Mayors Climate Protection Web Site with information for government officials that compliments the primary site sponsored by the City of Seattle. The USCM has also passed the following resolutions calling upon their members to take decisive action to protect the environment.

• Adopting the "2030 Challenge" For All Buildings
• Encourages the Use of Landfill Gas-to-Recovery Technologies
• Encouraging the Use of Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles
• Endorses the increased use of Renewable Fuels
• Promotion of Clean, Renewable Energy Sources
• Establishing a New Municipal Energy Agenda to help Address the Nation's Energy and Environmental Challenges and Improve Local Communities

None of the downstate communities listed above, excepting Carbondale, have signed onto the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement. Carbondale has not joined the Cool Cities Campaign, a complementary program to implement action plans to achieve the goals of the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement.