Fiscal Note
No appropriation required.
Title
Affirming the City of Madison’s support of the County Climate Coalition, the Paris Climate Accord, environmental sustainability and the City's leadership in environmental sustainability and combating climate change.
Body
WHEREAS, consensus exists among the world’s leading climate scientists that we face a major global climate crisis caused by greenhouse gas emissions, with rising sea levels and melting ice sheets creating increasingly unpredictable and unhealthy living environments as we approach a dangerous threshold of global warming; and,
WHEREAS, documented impacts of global warming include but are not limited to increased occurrences of extreme weather events, significant impacts to human health and safety, destruction of ecosystems, and reduced economic productivity; and,
WHEREAS, all but two countries in the world signed the Paris Accord, committing to enact programs to limit global temperature increase to less than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with an expectation that this goal would be reduced to one and a half degrees in the future; and,
WHEREAS, the United States ratified the Paris Accord on September 3, 2016 and committed to its own target of reducing carbon emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025; and,
WHEREAS, on June 1, 2017, President Trump began the process to withdraw the United States from the Paris Accord; and,
WHEREAS, states and local governments are leading the effort to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions; reducing petroleum use in cars and trucks; increasing electricity derived from renewable sources; increasing the energy efficiency savings achieved at existing buildings and making heating fuels cleaner; reducing the release of methane, black carbon, and other short-lived climate pollutants; managing farm and rangelands, forests, and wetlands so they can store carbon; and periodically updating the state’s climate adaptation strategy; and,
WHEREAS, in 2007, the City of Madison was named one of 25 Solar America Cities <https://madisunsolar.com/about-us/>. Since receiving this designation, the City of Madison’s Solar program, MadiSUN, has helped hundreds of businesses and thousands of residents learn more about solar energy, understand their solar production potential and assist with the solar purchasing process; and,
WHEREAS, since 2013, the City of Madison has saved a total of 10,820,567 kWh and 182,873 therms through energy efficiency measures; and,
WHEREAS, in 2017, the City of Madison committed to use 100 percent renewable energy for all city operations, and in March 2019 committed to achieving this goal by 2030, and for the entire Madison community by 2050; and,
WHEREAS, since 2018, City Fleet has reduced Carbon emissions by nearly two million pounds; and,
WHEREAS, in July 2018, the City of Madison committed to supporting five new solar array projects that will increase in-state solar capacity by 15 percent; and,
WHEREAS, for the first time in state history for a public entity, City of Madison vehicles are using 20 percent biodiesel blends <https://www.cityofmadison.com/news/city-of-madison-leads-the-state-with-first-public-fleet-to-use-20-percent-biodiesel> to fuel diesel trucks; and,
WHEREAS, the City’s MetroForward transit plan <https://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/routes-schedules/metroforward> will take 2.6 million car trips off our streets every year; and,
WHEREAS, 27 city owned solar installations are powering buildings; and,
WHEREAS, the Common Council adopted Resolution, Legislative File No. 07453 on January 22, 2008 that requires all new construction and major renovations for city facilities to be LEED certified Silver or better; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Madison has committed to purchase at least 30 EV <https://www.cityofmadison.com/news/city-of-madison-announces-partnership-with-climate-mayors-electric-vehicle-purchasing>fleet vehicles and three EV buses by the end of 2020 and is a proud member of the Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collective,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Madison Mayor and Common Council:
1. Join municipalities and states across the country in committing to the goals of the Paris Accord to combat climate change and promote environmental sustainability.
2. Will continue the City’s efforts to further the commitment made by the United States under the Paris Accord to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Support the work of the County Climate Coalition in conjunction with the Climate Reality Project and encourage all Wisconsin counties to join their efforts.