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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 15, 2006 County-wide
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Program is Launched
Most cities
in Alameda County to participate aggressive effort, initiated by Berkeley
Mayor Tom Bates, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Berkeley, CA —As global warming makes its way into mainstream movie theaters, magazines, and national newspapers, 10 jurisdictions in Alameda County are launching an effort to bring the solutions home. Nearly every jurisdiction in Alameda County, including the County government itself, is simultaneously committing to play a leadership role in addressing the causes and impacts of global warming. The project, a first of its kind, has the potential to prevent hundreds of thousands of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere annually and set a national example for other communities to follow. “Berkeley has long been an environmental leader, but the serious threat posed by climate change requires we dramatically step up our efforts and work regionally to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, who initiated the county-wide effort during his term as President of the Alameda County Conference of Mayors. “Together, the jurisdictions participating in this project represent over 1.1 million people.” The initiative—The Alameda County Climate Protection Project—was launched by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability with support from StopWaste.org and the Alameda County Conference of Mayors. Through the project, each jurisdiction will quantify greenhouse gas emissions for which the local government operations and the community are responsible, set targets for reducing the emissions, and develop a local climate action plan for reaching the targets. The action plans will include measures that serve to increase energy and transportation efficiency and reduce waste. The
project launched on Thursday, June 15 at a meeting in Berkeley.
Jurisdictions participating in the meeting include Alameda County and the
cities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Hayward, Pleasanton,
Piedmont, Union City, Oakland, Newark, and San Leandro. The initiative is being implemented through ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection® (CCP) Campaign and unites these Alameda County jurisdictions with over 177 U.S. local governments participating in CCP, who reported collective reductions in 2005 of 23 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and more than 43,000 tons of local air pollutants, saving in excess of $535 million. (A 23 million ton reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is equivalent to taking four million passenger vehicles off the road.)
** To reach ICLEI, contact Timothy
Burroughs at 510-844-0699 x307. # # #
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