Mayor Michael A. Nutter made the following statement on President Obama’s Climate Change Address:
“The broad and comprehensive climate action plan unveiled today by President Obama gives us a path forward to making meaningful reductions in carbon pollution while preparing for the impacts of climate change. With this bold undertaking, the President is acting in the best interests of the American people to address one of our nation’s greatest threats.
Local governments have a major role to play in this national effort as changing and variable climate has tremendous implications for the livability, competitiveness and resilience of our communities. Cities across the country are taking the lead. Since 2009 through our Greenworks Philadelphia plan, we have been advancing work on a wide range of sustainability initiatives and will release a climate preparedness plan later this year. We have already made significant progress, including a reduction in City government’s energy use by 7%, a reduction in citywide greenhouse gas emissions by 8% and a reduction in vehicle miles traveled by more than 10%. But there is much more to do.
I applaud President Obama for bringing leadership and focus to the reality of climate change and for urging national dialogue and action. The United States can and should be the leader in the transition to a clean energy economy. The extreme weather events affecting communities across the country are making it clear that we can no longer spend time arguing over indisputable science or waiting for the political sands to shift. We must take action now.”