Climate Mayors Letter to President Trump on Roll Back of U.S. Climate Actions
March 28, 2017
Dear President Trump,
As members of the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda (MNCAA), we represent more than 42 million Americans in 75 cities across our nation — in red and blue states alike. We write to strongly object to your actions to roll back critically important U.S. climate policies including the Clean Power Plan and vehicle fuel efficiency standards, as well as proposed budget cuts to the EPA and critical federal programs like Energy Star.
Climate change is both the greatest single threat we face, and our greatest economic opportunity for our nation. That is why we affirm our cities’ commitments to taking every action possible to achieve the principles and goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, and to engage states, businesses and other sectors to join us.
As Mayors, we work with our constituents face-to-face, every day, and they demand that we act on climate to improve quality of life and create economic growth. As public servants and stewards of public funds and infrastructure, we also cannot ignore the costs of inaction.
That is why we are also standing up for our constituents and all Americans harmed by climate change, including those most vulnerable among us: coastal residents confronting erosion and sea level rise; young and old alike suffering from worsening air pollution and at risk during heatwaves; mountain residents engulfed by wildfires; farmers struggling at harvest time due to drought; and communities across our nation challenged by extreme weather.
Climate action is also an investment in our economy and job creation — electric vehicles, solar power, energy efficiency and battery storage are all avenues to restoring our nation’s manufacturing base and create good, middle class jobs. Recently, thirty MNCAA cities demonstrated how we can accelerate markets and drive economic growth by issuing a formal Request for Information for the potential acquisition of nearly 115,000 electric vehicles for our municipal fleets.
The private sector recognizes the opportunities of climate action as well. Goldman Sachs is committing $150 billion to clean energy capital. Companies like Microsoft, Wal-Mart, and Google are some of the largest purchasers of solar and renewable energy. Today, one in fifty American jobs is now in the solar sector, surpassing employment in oil, gas, and coal extraction combined. Texas is once again experiencing an energy boom — this time, with wind power. In fact, the majority of wind jobs in the U.S. are in congressional districts that voted for you.
As the “Climate Mayors,” we wrote to you during your transition asking that you work with cities on climate action – the nation’s first responders and economic hubs – and to embrace the Paris Climate Agreement commitment. Instead, we fear your Administration’s recent actions and today’s executive order will undermine America’s leadership on climate action, if not take us backwards.
We urge you to change course, and to join us. In the meantime, America’s cities will continue to lead the way in moving forward in protecting our residents from the disastrous effects of climate change, and creating a thriving 21st century economy.
Sincerely,
Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles, CA / Mayor Ed Murray, City of Seattle, WA / Mayor Lioneld Jordan, City of Fayetteville, AR / Mayor Kasim Reed, City of Atlanta, GA / Mayor Martin J Walsh, City of Boston, MA / Mayor Rahm Emanuel, City of Chicago, IL / Mayor Sylvester Turner, City of Houston, TX / Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City, NY / Mayor Jim Kenney, City of Philadelphia, PA / Mayor Ed Lee, City of San Francisco, CA / Mayor Sam Liccardo, City of San Jose, CA / Mayor Muriel Bowser, Washington, D.C. / Mayor Esther Manheimer, City of Asheville, NC / Mayor Steve Skadron, City of Aspen, CO / Mayor Steve Adler, City of Austin, TX / Mayor John Hamilton, City of Bloomington, IN / Mayor Suzanne Jones, City of Boulder, CO / Mayor Lori S Liu, City of Brisbane, CA / Mayor Miro Weinberger, City of Burlington, VT / Mayor Mary Casillas Salas, City of Chula Vista, CA / Mayor Stephen K Benjamin, City of Columbia, SC / Mayor Michael Hancock, City of Denver, CO / Mayor Roy D Buol, City of Dubuque, IA / Mayor William V Bell, City of Durham, NC / Mayor David Kaptain, City of Elgin, IL / Mayor Lucy Vinis, City of Eugene, OR / Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, City of Evanston, IL / Mayor Madeline Rogero, City of Knoxville, TN / Mayor Philip Levine, City of Miami Beach, FL / Mayor Tom Barrett, City of Milwaukee, WI / Mayor Mark Gamba, City of Milwaukie, OR / Mayor Betsy Hodges, City of Minneapolis, MN / Mayor John Hollar, City of Montpelier, VT / Mayor Dennis Coombs, City of Longmont, CO / Mayor Robert Garcia, City of Long Beach, CA / Mayor Jon Mitchell, City of New Bedford, MA / Mayor Mitch Landrieu, City of New Orleans, LA / Mayor Libby Schaaf, City of Oakland, CA / Mayor Buddy Dyer, City of Orlando, FL / Mayor Greg Scharff, City of Palo Alto, CA / Mayor Jack Thomas, Park City, UT / Mayor Bill Peduto, City of Pittsburgh, PA / Mayor Ted Wheeler, City of Portland, OR / Mayor Liz Lempert, Municipality of Princeton, NJ / Mayor Jorge Elorza, City of Providence, RI / Mayor Alan Galbraith, City of Saint Helena, CA / Mayor Jackie Biskupski, Salt Lake City, UT / Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter, City of San Leandro, CA / Mayor Ted Winterer, City of Santa Monica, CA / Mayor Joe Curtatone, City of Somerville, MA / Mayor Glenn Hendricks, City of Sunnyvale, CA / Mayor Marilyn Strickland, City of Tacoma, WA / Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, City of Tucson, AZ / Mayor Jeri Muoio, City of West Palm Beach, FL / Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, City of West Sacramento, CA / Mayor Allen Joines, City of Winston Salem, NC / Mayor Kathy Sheehan, City of Albany, NY
Updated signatories as of 2pm PT on May 31, 2017
If you would like to sign this open letter, or require further information about #ClimateMayors (the MNCAA) and its activities please email info@climate-mayors.org.