[More than 1400 mayors of US cities with populations of 30,000 or more have pledged conform to the Paris Accord, with financial cover from former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg to UN Committee on Climate Change to make up for the loss caused by President Trump's withdrawal from the globally-endorsed treaty.]
American coasts and cities vs hinterland in climate change battle Chidanand Rajghatta | TNN | Jun 3, 2017, 11.10 PM IST WASHINGTON: It's American cities versus American hinterland. More than 1400 mayors of US cities with populations of 30,000 or more have pledged conform to the Paris Accord, with financial cover from former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg to UN Committee on Climate Change to make up for the loss caused by President Trump's withdrawal from the globally-endorsed treaty. Comprising Democrats and Republicans, the US Conference of Mayors said on Friday that President Trump's decision did not mean the rest of the country was behind him. "There will still be leadership from the United States," Jim Brainard, the Republican mayor of Carmel, Indiana, said in a conference call. "It's going to come from the mayors of the country." Elizabeth Kautz, another Republican mayor from Burnsville, Minnesota, separately told a TV Network, "We don't need Washington to tell us what to do; we are going to do it because it is the right thing." It is a package of measures that various cities and towns in America have been taking in an effort to reduce the country's enormous carbon footprint: from encouraging public transport and biking to backing LED lighting, solar programs etc. Not that the Trump administration has in any way discouraged this, but the mayors, particularly those from littoral states and cities are appalled at the President's embrace of coal given the threat of coastal erosion and rising sea levels, and are determined to take a public stand for the treaty. "If you are a mayor and not addressing shifts in changing weather patterns or preparing for the impacts of climate change you aren't doing your job," Bill Peduto, the Democratic Mayor of Pittsburgh who publicly snubbed Trump by disavowing the President's association with the Steel City, said in a statement. Separately, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is forming a bipartisan coalition of states, cities and business leaders to meet the climate pact's targets even as the president rescinds the nation's commitment to it. Bloomberg, a billionaire whose fortune is bigger than that of Trump ( a fact that appeared to pique Trump when he was running for the White House), is also pledging $15 million for the UN Climate Change Secretariat that it stands to lose from the US withdrawal from the pact. The White House made light of the largely urban/mayoral defiance saying "we believe in states' rights and so, if a locality, municipality or a state wants to enact a policy that their voters, or their citizens believe in, then that's what they should do." But the dissent extended across geography and politics, into business and high finance. Reflective of the deep unrest the decision has caused across the spectrum, Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of GOldman Sachs, a firm that has deep connections with the establishment, used his first-ever tweet to criticize the Paris decision, calling it a "setback for the environment and for American leadership position in the world." In White House briefings, administration officials struggled to explain if Trump still believed in climate change, which he had once described as a "con job" and a "hoax," even as many analysts concluded he simply was not educated enough on the subject - some going so far as to calling him "stupid" (New York Times) and an "idiot" (Jeffrey Sachs). The administration meantime was opening up another crisis front (or distraction) amid speculation that the President is considering using his executive privilege to prevent former FBI Director James Comey from testifying before Congress. Although some officials have maintained the President has no such plans, Democratic lawmakers who are all set to question Comey when he comes before the Senate panel next week are leery of last-minute hitches. Comey is expected to appear on the Hill on June 8 in what is likely to be one of the most watched testimonies in history, and it is certain to draw the attention away from the climate change fiasco. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
