HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/02/2007 - Climate Change Actions - Air Quality Advisory BoardFort Collins
Air Quality Advisory Board
Air Quality Advisory Board
Recommendation to the Fort Collins City Council on Climate Change Actions
The City of Fort Collins has been a leader in addressing climate change issues at the local level. In the late 1990’s, the city
joined the Cities for Climate Protection and committed to reducing its total greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 to a level
(2.5 million tons) 30% below the level projected with inaction (3.5 million tons). This however is still 80% larger than the
city’s emissions in 1990 (1.36 million tons). More recently the Clean Energy Cluster formed locally as a partnership between
government, private industry, and researcher organizations such as CSU.
The Kyoto Protocol emissions reduction target for the U.S. is 7% below 1990 levels by 2012. We recommend that the City of
Fort Collins commit to the Kyoto target (1.26 million tons) for greenhouse gas emissions by 2012.
A strong scientific basis for global climate change is documented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (http://
www.ipcc.ch/pub/spm22-01.pdf). The IPCC is a comprehensive, international, and well-respected body of scientists actively
researching and publishing climate research results.
The economic impacts of climate change are quantified by the Stern Report from the finance ministry of the United Kingdom.
The Stern report identifies costs of climate change of 5-20% of global GDP continuing with “business as usual,” versus costs
of 1% of GDP to stabilize climate with moderate change (http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_
economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm).
The impacts of climate change on Fort Collins and Colorado are particularly acute and relate to critical issues of water resource
availability, drought impacts, agricultural production, wildfire occurrence and severity, and impacts on recreation and tourism.
Nationally, over 300 cities accounting for 50 millions U.S. residents have committed to greenhouse gas reductions by signing
the Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement (http://www.usmayors.org/climateprotection/). The following Colorado mayors and
city councils recognize the threat of climate change globally and to the regional climate of Colorado: Helen Klanderud (Aspen),
Leroy Duroux (Basalt), Mark Ruzzin (Boulder), John W. Hickenlooper (Denver), Stu Ferguson (Gunnison), Bernie Zurbriggen
(Frisco), John Pryor (Telluride).
We urge the City of Fort Collins to enhance its participation in the Cities for Climate Protection by
joining the above cities in signing the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection agreement committing to the
following actions:
1) Strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in their own communities, through actions
ranging from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information
campaigns;
2) Urge their state governments, and the federal government, to enact policies and programs
to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the
Kyoto Protocol -- 7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012; and
3) Urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation, which
would establish a national emission trading system.
We also believe that convening a climate task force consisting of local business, government and
community leaders willing to take action on the issue would greatly enhance local efforts to address
climate change. Meaningful action on this critical global issue can only begin when individuals and
local governments step up to lead our nation into taking action.
Respectfully submitted: Eric Levine, Chairman
January 2, 2007