 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 TEL: (510) 981-7100, FAX: (510) 981-7199, TDD: (510) 981-6903 Office Hours: Mon-Fri 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Email: mayor@ci.berkeley.ca.us |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
Press
Contact: |
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mayors
Form Partnership with UC and Berkeley Lab to Build Regional Green Economy Mayors Bates,
Dellums, Davis, and McLaughlin joined UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau and
LBNL Director Chu to launch the ‘East Bay Green Corridor’ and build
the region into a national center for environmental business, industry,
and jobs. You can read the Statement of Principles here. Berkeley,
CA – The East Bay took a big step towards becoming one of the nation’s
green economic engines with the announcement of the East Bay Green
Corridor Partnership. On
Monday, the Mayors of Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, and Emeryville joined
with the leaders of the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory to sign a Statement of Principles launching a
cooperative effort to lead the world in environmental innovation, emerging
green business and industry, green jobs, and renewable energy. At a
press conference that took place at SunPower Corp.’s new Richmond
facility, the four cities and the two research institutions pledged to
work together to harness the human, intellectual, and economic resources
of the region. The East Bay Green Corridor Partnership Statement of
Principles states: “Our region has a long and
distinguished history in environmental awareness, conservation success and
policy innovation. We have a
remarkable labor force, extraordinary institutions of higher learning and
research, and a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation that is known
throughout the world… Despite our obvious strengths, increased regional
cooperation will be essential to actualize our potential as a center of
the emerging green economy. Markets
in labor, land and venture capital are larger than any single
jurisdiction. Each of our
entities is committed to bringing our unique strengths to the table and
building the heart of the East Bay into a dynamic “Green Corridor.” Specifically,
the six signatories on the Statement of Principles agreed to hold an
annual green economic summit, set quarterly meetings of the directors of
economic development, workforce development and technology transfer
offices, and to coordinate a major new regional green job training and
placement effort. Other joint efforts will be developed. Some
information on each of the participating entities and statements prepared
prior to the event: Over the
past several years, Berkeley has regularly been named among the greenest
and most sustainable cities in the United States and it was recently
ranked as one of the top five cities best situated to lead the “Clean
Tech” economy. Last year,
Berkeley voters passed Measure G, a first in the nation ballot measure
directing the City to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by the year
2050. “Berkeley is
known as one of the world’s most innovative and creative places, but our
economic success is tied directly to the success of our neighbors and our
region,” said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates.
“It is vitally important that we keep the innovative ideas,
companies, and jobs here in our area.” Oakland
was the first city in the nation to initiate a plan to get to oil
independence by 2020 and also the first city in the nation to pass laws
replacing plastic and Styrofoam materials in restaurants with compostable
materials. In 2007, Oakland allocated $200,000 for green jobs development
and training. “This nature
of collaboration is crucial to sustain our collective effort to remain a
regional leader in the emerging green industry. Uniting these four cities
behind this goal will do a great deal to coordinate our business,
government and community resources,” said Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums. “We
share a vision of a green economy that provides jobs for all our people,
revenue for our cities, and serves as environmental center for the nation.
We are much better able to make our shared vision a reality if we
work together,” said Emeryville Mayor Nora Davis. Over the
past two decades, Emeryville has emerged as a center for entertainment,
retail, technology, and bio-tech companies.
It has one of the fastest growing commercial and housing markets in
the Bay Area. “A
green economy which focuses on the triple bottom line of economics,
environment and social equity is the greatest opportunity of the
twenty-first century to improve the lives of all people. Given the crises
the world faces from resource depletion, poverty and species extinction --
a green economy is also the only way to reinvigorate our economy while at
the same time addressing environmental destruction and social inequity.
Cities generate 75% of the carbon emissions. Cities like ours are where
the problem must be solved,” said Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin. Richmond’s
abundance of industrial land, port and rail capacities have attracted
green businesses and led it to focus on becoming the first Green
Industrial City in the US: adopting a goal of 80% reduction city-wide
greenhouse gas emissions, establishing solar installation training in its
youth jobs training programs and lowering its solar permit fees to the
lowest in the Bay Area. The
University of California, Berkeley is one of the world’s premier
education and research institutions.
The University has embraced sustainability as a core area of
research across departments and as a focus of campus operations.
In April, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau committed the
campus to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year
2014. “As a
public university, UC Berkeley is committed to contributing our academic
resources and developing research approaches that impact the most pressing
problems globally and locally. Our newly formed Energy Biosciences
Institute (EBI) will bring some of the best minds in the world together to
focus on global energy production and alternative energy sources.
EBI will position UC Berkeley on a trailblazing track to make the
East Bay a world center for energy and environmental research,” said Chancellor
Robert Birgeneau. Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory has been a leader in science and engineering
research for more than 75 years. It
is one of the preeminent laboratories working on energy efficiency,
alternative energy, and climate research. SunPower CEO Tom Werner and Ilan Gur of the Berkeley-based start-up Seeo, Inc. also spoke about the tremendous opportunities for green economic growth and the benefits of locating and expanding their businesses in this area. Assemblywoman Loni Hancock also spoke and served as emcee of the event. # # # |
|
Please
note: If you are unable to access information on this website, please
contact the Mayor's Office. City of Berkeley Home / Departments / Mayor Home
|
||
