Climate Mayors Statement on President Biden’s Executive Order to Rejoin Paris Agreement

JANUARY 20, 2021 — Today, Climate Mayors, a bipartisan network of over 470 U.S. mayors working to combat climate change through meaningful actions in their communities, issued the following statement regarding President Biden’s Executive Order to bring the United States back into the Paris Agreement:

“Since 2017, when the previous administration announced its intention to leave the Paris Agreement, Climate Mayors served as a bulwark against climate complacency. Our 474 member cities have remained committed to upholding the Paris Agreement, and have taken strong actions to reduce carbon emissions and keep the United States on a path of climate progress.

“This past year, our cities were ground zero for the fourfold crisis the Biden administration intends to prioritize: the COVID-19 pandemic, a profound economic downturn, extreme climate impacts and a national reckoning with racial inequity. We are at an inflection point and, for cities, the stakes could not be higher.

“Against this urgent backdrop, Climate Mayors applaud and endorse President Biden’s decision to rejoin the Paris Agreement. With the stakes so high, we are eager to collaborate with a federal administration committed to urgent, bold climate action at the national and international levels. As leaders on the ground, we keenly understand that climate action will not only protect human civilization and prevent irreparable climate disruption, but will also make American cities cleaner, healthier and more equitable.

“This announcement is only the beginning; there is still a lot of work to do. It is essential that the transition to a green energy economy is front and center in any comprehensive economic stimulus package. Climate Mayors are ready to partner immediately on accelerated climate solutions here in the U.S. and abroad. The future of our economy, our public health, and our world depend on it.”

Climate Mayors Statement on the Five-Year Anniversary of Paris Climate Agreement

DECEMBER 11, 2020 — Today, the Climate Mayors, a bipartisan network of U.S. mayors working to combat climate change through meaningful actions in their communities, issued the following statement in regards to the fifth anniversary of the landmark agreement at the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 to combat climate change:

“As mayors, we’re close to the people we serve. We see how climate change is already impacting the residents in our cities, and we know how important it is to take decisive action for the sake of public safety and public health. American cities have long led on climate action in the U.S., especially in the absence of national climate leadership over the last four years.

“When the stakes couldn’t be higher, we are pleased to usher in a new federal administration committed to urgent, bold climate policies that are necessary to protect human civilization and beat the ten-year clock counting down to massive, irreparable climate disruption.

“As we approach the five-year anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement, Climate Mayors members once again reaffirm our commitment to upholding the Agreement and look forward to working with the Biden-Harris Administration to accelerate our ongoing efforts to curb emissions and prevent the worst effects of climate change. Mayors rallied in support of the Agreement in 2017 when the administration first announced the U.S. would withdraw. Now over 460 Climate Mayors remain committed to upholding the Agreement and to pursuing ambitious action in their communities and around the world.

“Coordinated climate action is more necessary now than ever. This year, our cities have faced many crises at once: an increasingly warmer climate, the global public health emergency of COVID-19, a profound economic crisis, and a national reckoning with racial inequity. As we stated in our letter to Congressional leadership in July, and reinforced throughout our National Dialogue on Green and Equitable Recovery series over the past six months, Climate Mayors are urging the incoming administration and federal policymakers to tackle these crises together based on the following principles:

Build for a Better Future: Returning to the status quo is not sufficient in meeting the challenges of climate change and inequities in our society. We must increase our resolve and ambition to reinvest in America’s communities.
Lead with Equity: Federal investments in our municipalities must prioritize those communities who have been left behind, and frontline communities and people of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change and COVID-19.
Prioritize Multiple Benefits: The best investments will create jobs, strengthen community cohesion and resilience, and improve health outcomes in our cities and towns.

“COVID-19 has made it clear that we need to plan for the future, we need to listen to scientists, and we need to make sustainability a fundamental value of our society. Everything we want to accomplish right now — public health, public safety, racial justice, economic growth, and an equitable recovery from COVID-19 — all depends on a healthy environment. Climate action is the best investment we can make in our cities, our nation, and the world to ensure a sustainable, just, and resilient future.”

November 2020 – Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh

Dear Colleagues,

I’m very proud to be named new Chair of the Climate Mayors. As mayors, we’re close to the people we serve. We see how climate change is already impacting the residents in our cities, and we know how important it is to take decisive action for the sake of public safety and public health. American cities have led on climate action for a long time, and especially over the last four years. I thank you all for your leadership and partnership. As we welcome a new Federal administration that is committed to urgent, bold climate policies, I look forward to accelerating our efforts together with all of you.

I am grateful to Mayor Eric Garcetti for his leadership of this network over the last seven years. He ensured the sustained growth and impact of the Climate Mayors. As he continues to lead C40, our two networks will build on our close partnership in order to pursue ambitious action in our cities and drive an equally ambitious national and international climate agenda.

I also want to thank Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner for his continued leadership as Co-Chair of the Climate Mayors. As Mayor of the “Energy Capital of the World,” Mayor Turner has prioritized the transition to clean energy and building more resilient communities at the center of his agenda. I look forward to continuing our work together as we expand the reach of our network.

We are at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history, with the ongoing global pandemic. As a country, our recovery efforts must be rooted in equity and sustainability. As we rebuild our economy, we need to focus on green jobs. We need to look at the economic and social conditions that made some populations more vulnerable to COVID-19, especially people of color, immigrants, and low-income families. Those same populations are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Now is the time to heal our nation, by investing in long-term community health and wellbeing. Climate action must be central to our national COVID-19 recovery, and our efforts to dismantle systemic racism.

Engaging with Washington on the national response to COVID-19 will be a top priority for the Climate Mayors moving forward. We should also continue working to strengthen our partnerships with other climate networks, including the C40, the US Conference of Mayors, and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. We need to continue building a broad coalition around this work. We need to show that everyone stands to benefit from climate action, and everyone has a role to play in making it happen. We should also keep creating more leadership opportunities within the Climate Mayors. We represent more than 450 cities and tens of millions of Americans. There is so much diversity within our membership. Everyone has something different to contribute, and we want to make sure we’re drawing on all of that talent and all of their insights.

As we work with the Biden-Harris administration on large scale solutions at the national level, we should continue to point to the solutions we’re advancing in our own cities to show what’s possible when we work together, get creative, and make climate action a priority in everything we do. While the incoming Biden-Harris administration has committed to re-entering the Paris accord and is planning a series of executive orders to reverse many of the Trump administration’s deregulatory actions, Boston and many cities across the country are already moving ahead with our local climate goals. In Boston, we recently debuted our Zero-Emission Vehicle Roadmap, a long-term strategy to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and other zero-emission transportation. The plan calls for electric vehicle charging stations in every city neighborhood by 2023 and a totally electrified city fleet, and lays out plans to help residents afford electric vehicles. Boston also recently released two more neighborhood-level climate resiliency plans as part of our ongoing Climate Ready Boston initiative, we are in the process of developing a city-wide urban forestry master plan, and we will launch our Community Choice Electricity municipal aggregation program in February.

I know that many of your cities have recently advanced bold climate solutions as well, with more to come in the year ahead. Anything that comes from Washington will be carried out by cities, so mayors need to shape, advocate for, and deliver a green and equitable recovery that meets the unique needs of our communities.

COVID-19 has made it clear that we need to plan for the future, we need to listen to scientists, and we need to make sustainability a fundamental value of our society. Everything we want to accomplish right now — public health, public safety, racial justice, economic growth, and an equitable recovery from COVID-19 — it all depends on a healthy environment. Climate action is the best investment we can make in our cities now to ensure a resilient future. It’s time to heal our nation by investing in long-term community well-being and health. Climate action is at heart of that work, and the Climate Mayors are in a position to play a more significant role than ever before. I look forward to the work that lies ahead, and I thank all of you for your commitment and your partnership.

Sincerely, Mayor Martin J. Walsh
Climate Mayors Chair