Climate Mayors Hosts Mayors William Peduto - Pittsburgh, Nan Whaley - Dayton, John Cranley - Cincinnati, & Tito Brown - Youngstown for Dialogue About a Sustainable and Just Economic Recovery
The livestream panel was the fourth in the Climate Mayors National Dialogue on Green and Equitable Recovery, an event series running through the fall with leaders in different regions across the U.S.
Watch the full discussion HERE.
October 2, 2020 – Yesterday, Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown participated in a panel discussion as part of the Climate Mayors National Dialogue on Green and Equitable Recovery. The event convened like-minded institutions, partners, and policy makers for a discussion about successful climate initiatives in the Ohio Valley and ways that the panelists have collaborated to advance climate action both locally and nationally.Yesterday’s conversation was the fourth in a Climate Mayors event series advocating for national leadership to prioritize recovery policies that are environmentally sustainable and socially just in the time of COVID-19. The discussion was moderated by CB Bhattacharya, H.J. Zoffer Chair in Sustainability and Ethics at the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. Climate Mayors convened this event in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sustainable Business.
“It is increasingly clear that we need to develop the resources and capacity to rebuild the communities that built America and the people that live in them. Fostering a just and sustainable clean energy transition is imperative,” said Climate Mayors Steering Committee member Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto. “We are losing time in competitive challenges between regions and countries to address the climate challenge, to develop the next generation technologies and invest in our infrastructure. We need to create an American Marshall Plan that leverages our financial capacity to create clean energy jobs. I am proud to join together with my fellow mayors to help shape and share this vision.”
“The City of Dayton is committed to move our community forward in a green and resilient direction. We will work to ensure that Dayton plans and executes our future activities in a way that acknowledges the need to reduce carbon emissions, be efficient in our energy consumption, and reverses environmental injustices,” said Climate Mayors member Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley. “Our new Sustainability Strategy promises a high quality of life and a healthy economy for our residents, businesses, institutions, and nonprofits in the future.”
“Cincinnati has laid the groundwork to construct the nation’s largest municipally-owned solar array that will take city administrative buildings off the grid and save our taxpayers money,” said Climate Mayors member Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley. “A cost-saving that will be critical as we continue to navigate the economic impact of COVID-19. Additionally, we have added a Climate Advisor to our Sustainability team to help build programs that address racial equity and energy-burden issues facing our city in light of the changes happening during the pandemic. As environmental stewards asking our residents and business owners to be more carbon-conscious, it is our job to lead that effort at the local level. Cincinnati’s sustainability team is already leading with the economy in mind, and our future is already better for it.”
“The City of Youngstown has begun to focus our efforts on dealing with our environment and preserving the future of our community,” said Climate Mayors member Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown. “We have begun a plan to reduce the carbon emissions by installing electric charging stations around the city, focusing on the uses of autonomous electric power public transportation and upgrading our street lights to LED lighting. The greater impact I can make today as Mayor will create a better future for my children and grandchildren.”The next event in the Climate Mayors series will be a nationally focused discussion later this fall. Mayors and their partners will highlight how environmental initiatives can help stimulate local economies, create jobs, improve public health, and reduce carbon emissions in the wake of COVID-19. They will also discuss the ways that their sustainability policies prioritize frontline communities and communities of color, who are more likely to be affected by pollution and the negative impacts of climate change.
“Over the past six months, mayors have been tasked with responding to a convergence of crises — COVID-19 and its economic fallout, climate change and the disasters it creates, and the racial inequity that’s been laid bare in our systems. Climate Mayors in the Ohio Valley and across the nation understand that our country needs a sustainable and equitable economic plan to properly recover from the turmoil and uncertainty of the past year,” said James Ritchotte, Director of Climate Mayors. “The leadership exemplified by Climate Mayors throughout the country, and paired with meaningful support from our federal government to implement these actions on a larger scale, will help launch this nation into a greener, more just future.”
Earlier events in the series featured Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Columbia Mayor Stephen Benjamin, and US Representative Kathy Castor, Chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis; (watch the Southeast event here) Texas leaders Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg; (watch the Texas event here) and Great Lakes leaders Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, and Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes (listen to the full Great Lakes event here).
For more Information on upcoming events in Climate Mayors National Dialogue on Green and Equitable Recovery, please visit www.climatemayors.org.
About Climate MayorsRepresenting over 74 million Americans from 48 states, Climate Mayors is a peer-to-peer network of 467 U.S. city mayors who have committed to fighting climate change. Originally founded in 2014, the network’s ranks swelled to almost 400 mayors in response to the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Climate Mayors commit to taking ambitious action to meet each of their cities’ current climate goals, while working together towards achieving our national Paris targets. Climate Mayors is founded and Chaired by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Co-Chaired by Mayors Sylvester Turner (Houston) and Martin J. Walsh (Boston). For more information, visit www.climatemayors.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Media Contact: Melody Meyer, mmeyer@bpimedia.com; Grace Hemming, ghemming@bpimedia.com