Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Initiative
The threats of global climate change are now widely recognized as being among the most pressing issues facing us today. Recent statements by the world’s scientific community affirm that there is no longer any doubt that human influences and activity play a major role in our changing climate.
Acting individually to address climate change will help, but we also must have a concerted, coordinated effort if we are to address this problem adequately. We as county governments may not regulate emissions from power plants, automobiles or even lawn and garden equipment, but we do have both the opportunity and the responsibility to take aggressive steps to reduce our operational greenhouse gas emissions, while at the same time leveraging our special role as region to effect positive change We also must recruit our state and federal partners to take similar actions.
The “Cool Counties” Initiative consists of two parts: A pledge on our part to take action and a plan to carry that out. The U.S. Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration serves as the pledge piece. King County, Washington led the effort to draft this declaration and organize support for its approval. King County will continue to serve as the lead organizing government as we build support across our nation.
Fairfax County took the lead on the operational planning portion of the initiative. The Cool Counties Policies and Programs Template provides a menu of policies and actions that local governments can take to help achieve the goals identified in the Cool Counties Declaration.
The Cool Counties Declaration consists of three key elements. The first asks county governments to commit to reducing their operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by first creating an inventory of their local emissions and then planning and implementing policies and programs to achieve significant, measurable and sustainable reductions.
The second element of the Declaration calls on local governments to work closely with their regional and state governments and others to reduce regional GHG emissions to 80 percent below current levels by 2050. The idea is to engage the nations metropolitan planning organizations to develop regional GHG emissions inventories and create regional implementation plans that establish short-, mid-, and long-term emissions reduction targets. The goal is to stop the increase in emissions by 2010, and to achieve average reductions of 10 percent every five years thereafter through to 2050.
The third element of the Declaration calls on counties to urge Congress and the Administration to enact a multi-sector national program of market-based limits and incentives for reducing GHG emissions to 80 percent below current levels by 2050, and to urge Congress and the Administration to strengthen standards by enacting legislation such as a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (“CAFE”) standard that achieves at least 35 miles per gallon (mpg) within 10 years for cars and light trucks.
The Cool Counties Policies and Programs Template, the menu or tool kit of suggested policies and programs for implementation is designed to provide counties guidance on developing their own greenhouse gas emissions reduction plans. The document is divided into seven solutions areas that are common to all local governments. It is not expected that every county will implement all of the policies and/or actions within the template, just those that are most applicable to their situation. Bridging diverse local and regional interests requires a flexible initiative that allows different types of commitments for different counties. Each solution area contains policies, actions and strategies for achieving emissions reductions. While each jurisdiction’s Cool Counties plan will be unique, at a minimum, the plans (either as a separate plan or a plan that is woven into a larger environment or land use plan) should specify how each county is addressing global climate change.
It is worth noting the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement provided a necessary catalyst to facilitate dialogue on this important environmental issue. Likewise, the Sierra Club’s Cool Cities program was instrumental in recruiting cities from across the country to sign the agreement and develop solutions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 7 percent below 1990 levels. To date, nearly 600 cities have accepted the challenge. Cool Counties builds upon that effort as local governments across the country take the lead in this historic fight against global climate change.
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