Blog: City Blog

Additional 244 Mayors Join Mayor Rogero in Commitment to Climate

On June 1, Mayor Madeline Rogero announced that she was among 61 U.S. mayors pledging to adopt, honor and uphold the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement in their cities, despite President Trump pulling the United States from the accord.

Mayor Rogero with Climate Mayors

Mayor Rogero (second from left) joins mayors from across the country in a common commitment to reducing greenhouse gases and making their cities cleaner and more sustainable.

Just two weeks later, 305 Climate Mayors, representing 59 million Americans in 45 states, have announced their commitment to uphold the climate deal’s standards in their own cities.

"Protecting the climate is not a choice between our environment and our economy,” said Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero. “As we have shown in Knoxville, we can strengthen both while making Knoxville a better community. No matter the attitude of the president, we will continue to advance our local values by upholding the principles and commitment of the Paris Agreement."

Mayor Rogero’s statement was included in a national press release sent by the office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who co-founded the Climate Mayors peer-to-peer network in 2014.

“Last week, Democratic and Republican mayors from cities across America came together to say ‘Enough’ — we will not let the future of our world be jeopardized by inaction at the very top,” said Mayor Garcetti. “Now, mayors from every corner of our nation are joining the call to action, and uniting to carry the fight against climate change forward in our cities.”

As Mayor Rogero announced in her 2017 State of the City address, the City can be proud of the progress made toward its ambitious Energy & Sustainability Initiative’s goals of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with City operations and the Knoxville community each by 20 percent by 2020 relative to 2005 levels.

“Emissions from municipal operations are down 15 percent since 2005, thanks to measures the we took to reduce energy use at City facilities and improve the fuel efficiency of our fleet and transit buses,” said Office of Sustainability Director Erin Gill. The City aims to exceed this municipal goal in the coming year by retrofitting the City’s street lights to LED technology, an investment that makes sense for the environment and for taxpayer dollars.

LED light fixture at Suttree Landing Park

LED light fixture at Suttree Landing Park

You can find LED lighting at several locations throughout the City, including Suttree Landing Park.

At the same time, Knoxville’s efforts to increase residential energy efficiency, preserve the urban forest, and expand sidewalks, greenways and transit help reduce emissions from the larger community while also improving the quality of life for residents and helping create economic opportunities. Since 2005, community emissions are down 8 percent, despite robust economic growth in the City—proof that communities grow without increasing pollution.

For additional information on the City’s sustainability efforts, including the LED retrofitting project, visit http://KnoxvilleTN.gov/sustainability.

Posted by ptravis On 15 June, 2017 at 5:43 PM