Title
Briefing on Mayors Climate Compact
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive the information. Briefing only; no action requested
Report
Issue:
Whether to receive a briefing on the Compact of Mayors.
Staff Contact:
Rich Hoey, P.E., Public Works Director, 360.753.8495
Presenter(s):
Rich Hoey, Public Works Director
Background and Analysis:
The Compact of Mayors, launched in 2014, is a global coalition of mayors committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions at a local level. The Compact encourages cities to take actions to adapt to climate change and track their progress. Former Mayor Buxbaum signed on the Compact in November 2015, just prior to attending the International Climate Summit in Paris.
In June, the Compact of Mayors formally joined with the European Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. The newly formed Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy now includes more 7,100 cities world-wide.
By signing on to the Compact, the City is committing to the following over the next three years:
1. Reducing local greenhouse gas emissions;
2. Measuring and taking an inventory of community emissions;
3. Setting reduction targets;
4. Developing a climate action plan to meet the targets.
Olympia has already made considerable progress towards compliance. Staff has been actively working with the Thurston Climate Action Team ("TCAT") to fulfill the inventory requirement, which is essentially now complete. The City has also formally set aggressive targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through its recently adopted Comprehensive Plan. The City's ultimate goal is to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Historically, the City has made large strides on reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with its municipal operations. The Compact expands the focus to emissions reduction efforts community-wide.
The final phase ...
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