Open Letter to President-elect Donald J Trump on Climate Action

November 22, 2016

Dear President-elect Trump,

As Mayors, we have taken it upon ourselves to take bold action within our cities to tackle the climate crisis head-on. We write today to ask for your partnership in our work to clean our air, strengthen our economy, and ensure that our children inherit a nation healthier and better prepared for the future than it is today.

We lead 71 small and large American cities, comprising over 38 million Americans in both blue and red states. We have joined together in the Mayors’ National Climate Action Agenda (MNCAA), or the #ClimateMayors, in addressing the greatest challenge of our time, climate change. Each of our cities is committing to ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, set climate action, regularly report on our progress, share lessons and hold each other accountable. Around the globe, cities are working together through organizations like C40 as well.

The effects of climate change – extreme storms, wildfires and drought; sea level rise and storm surge; choking air pollution in cities; disruption of agricultural supply chains and jobs in rural heartlands; and coastal erosion, to name a few – are a clear and present danger to American interests at home and abroad. This is why the U.S. Department of Defense stated in 2015 “that climate change is an urgent and growing threat to our national security”. Furthermore, estimates have shown these impacts from climate change could cost the American economy $500 billion annually by 2050, and that figure will only rise unless we work together to stem, and ultimately reverse, the amount of greenhouse gases entering our atmosphere.

The cost of prevention pales in comparison to cost of inaction, in terms of dollars, property and human life. As our incoming President, as a businessman, and as a parent, we believe we can find common ground when it comes to addressing an issue not rooted in politics or philosophy, but in science and hard economic data. Simply put, we can all agree that fires, flooding and financial losses are bad for our country, that we need to protect our communities’ most vulnerable residents who suffer the most from the impacts of climate change, and that we all need healthier air to breathe and a stronger economy–rural and urban, Republican and Democrat–and in terms of our domestic quality of life and our standing abroad.

On November 8, American voters approved more than $200 billion in local measures, funded by their own local tax dollars, to improve quality of life and reduce carbon pollution. Seventy percent of voters in Los Angeles County, the car capital of the world, approved a $120 billion, multi-decade commitment to public transit. Seattle voters approved transit investments totaling $54 billion; Austin voters approved a record-setting $720 million mobility bond; Boston voters approved investment in affordable housing, parks, historic preservation and more.

As President, you will have the power to expand and accelerate these local initiatives which the people resoundingly supported. We call upon you and the federal government you will lead to help cities leverage funds for the hundreds of billions of dollars in transit, energy, infrastructure and real estate development necessary to upgrade our infrastructure for the 21st century. We ask that you lead us in expanding the renewable energy sources we need to achieve energy security, address climate change and spark a new manufacturing, energy and construction boom in America. We ask that you help provide American businesses the certainty to invest through continued tax credits for electric vehicles, solar power, renewables and other clean technologies. And we ask that you shift to embrace the Paris Climate Agreement and make U.S. cities your partner in doing so.

While we are prepared to forge ahead even in the absence of federal support, we know that if we stand united on this issue, we can make change that will resonate for generations. We have no choice and no room to doubt our resolve. The time for bold leadership and action is now.

Signed,

Mayor Eric Garcetti
City of Los Angeles, CA

Mayor Martin J Walsh
City of Boston, MA

Mayor Bill de Blasio
New York City, NY

Mayor Edward B Murray
City of Seattle, WA

Mayor Stephen K Benjamin
City of Columbia, SC

Mayor Jennifer W Roberts
City of Charlotte, NC

Mayor Rahm Emanuel
City of Chicago, IL

Mayor Greg Stanton
City of Phoenix, AZ

Mayor Jim Kenney
City of Philadelphia, PA

Mayor Buddy Dyer
City of Orlando, FL

Mayor Roy D Buol
City of Dubuque, IA

Mayor Charlie Hales
City of Portland, OR

Mayor Jackie Biskupski
Salt Lake City, UT

Mayor Libby Schaaf
City of Oakland, CA

Mayor Sam Liccardo
City of San Jose, CA

Mayor Muriel Bowser
Washington, DC

Mayor Christopher B Coleman
City of Saint Paul, MN

Mayor Kasim Reed
City of Atlanta, GA

Mayor Sly James
City of Kansas City, MO

Mayor Michael B Hancock
City and County of Denver, CO

Mayor Steve Adler
City of Austin, TX

Mayor Ed Lee
City of San Francisco, CA

Mayor Bill Peduto
City of Pittsburgh, PA

Mayor Kitty Piercy
City of Eugene, OR

Mayor Tom Bates
City of Berkeley, CA

Mayor Tony Vasquez
City of Santa Monica, CA

Mayor Joseph A Curtatone
City of Somerville, MA

Mayor Steve Skadron
City of Aspen, CO

Mayor Suzanne Jones
City of Boulder, CO

Mayor Jack Thomas
Park City, UT

Mayor Mary Casillas Salas
City of Chula Vista, CA

Mayor Elizabeth B Tisdahl
City of Evanston, IL

Mayor-elect Darrell Steinberg
City of Sacramento, CA

Mayor Sylvester Turner
City of Houston, TX

Mayor Patrick Burt
City of Palo Alto, CA

Mayor Mitchell J Landrieu
City of New Orleans, LA

Mayor Philip Levine
City of Miami Beach, FL

Mayor Lioneld Jordan
City of Fayetteville, AR

Mayor Betsy Hodges
City of Minneapolis, MN

Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson
City of Gary, IN

Mayor Ashley Swearengin
City of Fresno, CA

Mayor John Hamilton
City of Bloomington, IN

Mayor-elect Michael Tubbs
City of Stockton, CA

Mayor John J Tecklenburg
City of Charleston, SC

Mayor Miro Weinberger
City of Burlington, VT

Mayor Dennis Coombs
City of Longmont, CO

Mayor John P “Jack” Seiler
City of Fort Lauderdale, FL

Mayor Christopher Cabaldon
City of West Sacramento, CA

Mayor Jake Mackenzie
City of Rohnert Park, CA

Mayor Allan Ekberg
City of Tukwila, WA

Mayor Hillary Schieve
City of Reno, NV

Mayor Allen Joines
City of Winston Salem, NC

Mayor Mark Stodola
City of Little Rock, AR

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild
City of Tucson, AZ

Mayor Edward O’Brien
City of West Haven, CT

Mayor William “Bill” V Bell
City of Durham, NC

Mayor Jon Mitchell
City of New Bedford, MA

Mayor Patrick Wojahn
City of College Park, MD

Mayor Jim B Clarke
Culver City, CA

Mayor Jeffrey Z Slavin
Town of Somerset, MD

Mayor Christopher Taylor
City of Ann Arbor, MI

Mayor Kathy Sheehan
City of Albany, NY

Mayor Matt Larson
City of Snoqualmie, WA

Mayor Madeline Rogero
City of Knoxville, TN

Mayor David Kaptain
City of Elgin, IL

Mayor Wade Troxell
City of Fort Collins, CO

Mayor Helene Schneider
City of Santa Barbara, CA

Mayor Robert Garcia
City of Long Beach, CA

Mayor Smith Joseph
City of North Miami, FL

Mayor Lou La Monte
City of Malibu, CA

Mayor Jim Cason
City of Coral Gables, FL

Last updated 7am PT on February 14,  2017.

If you would like to sign this open letter, or require further information about the MNCAA and its activities please email info@climate-mayors.org

April 15, 2016

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

As mayors committed to leading the fight against climate change, we believe the recent Aliso Canyon gas leak has pointed out the challenges facing communities where similar oil and gas infrastructure is found. Each of our cities shares concerns about these facilities, including health and safety, as well as the methane released from natural gas and oil production, consumption, storage, and transport.

We have come together through the Mayors’ National Climate Action Agenda (MNCAA) to support action on climate change. Given that methane is a potent, short lived climate pollutant–84 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short-term—we write to you today.

First, thank you for your March 10 commitment to ensuring that the U.S. EPA moves forward expeditiously on rules to limit methane emissions from new sources, per your commitment last summer, and critically, from existing sources of oil and gas production infrastructure. This action is vitally important as we need rules that address methane leaks throughout the entire life-cycle of oil and gas, including both production and consumption.

Such rules would not only have a climate benefit, but they would reduce the costly waste of energy resources. These rules would also serve to cut the toxic soup of air contaminants that are released alongside methane not just from oil and gas production, but from their transportation and storage as well. This is a risk that threatens every city.

However, the climate benefits from these rules can be undermined by lack of oversight elsewhere in the value chain, and lagging advancement of renewable energy and alternative forms of storage of energy. Therefore, we are asking for your leadership in rapidly addressing these issues in two additional ways:

1. Direct the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to add regulation of oil and gas storage facilities along with interstate pipelines. 

To date, storage facilities and interstate transportation infrastructure have been overlooked. The risk of such a gap in oversight has been highlighted most recently by the disaster at Aliso Canyon in Los Angeles where a gaswell leaked more methane than ever experienced in the United States and led to the emergency relocation of over 5,000 residents in the neighboring communities. Most leaks aren’t as big as Aliso Canyon, but they add up to a much larger problem in aggregate.

2. Research energy storage technologies to pair with renewables.

We ask that you enlist the expertise of the Department of Energy to study alternatives for existing natural gas storage facilities. Namely, we propose a redoubled emphasis on energy storage technologies, including battery storage, pumped hydro storage, and compressed air storage among other methods, which can make intermittent renewable energy production technologies more viable throughout the day. This technology would allow for the continued use of existing infrastructure, but serve as a much safer and cleaner strategy for addressing peak energy demand in comparison to natural gas-fired generation. Financing should also be made available to cities to help them move buildings and homes toward clean technologies such as battery storage paired with grid-tied solar installations.

Thankfully, in the wake of the leak at Aliso Canyon, U.S. Secretary of Energy Moniz announced on April 1 the Interagency Task Force on Natural Gas Storage Safety. We ask for your support in ensuring the task force addresses both these matters, and other related issues they identify. Please know we stand ready to help support and contribute to the work of the task force if and as possible.

We understand that our economy will continue to rely on fossil fuels for the near future. However, the oil and gas industry must not imperil our air quality, our public health, and our climate through leaks and venting. The public relies on all of us to make decisions that protect their health and welfare.

Sincerely,

Mayor Eric Garcetti
City of Los Angeles

Mayor Steve Skadron
City of Aspen

Mayor Steve Adler
City of Austin

Mayor Tom Bates
City of Berkeley

Mayor Suzanne Jones
City of Boulder

Mayor Rahm Emanuel
Mayor of Chicago

Mayor Michael Hancock
City of Denver

Mayor Muriel Bowser
District of Columbia

Mayor Sly James
City of Kansas City

Mayor Bill de Blasio
City of New York

Mayor Libby Shaaf
City of Oakland

Mayor Charlie Hales
City of Portland

cc: Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Anthony Foxx, Secretary of U.S. Department of Transportation
Ernest Moniz, Secretary of U.S. Department of Energy
Marie Therese Dominguez, Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation