News

St. Paul Joins Growing Coalition of Cities
Pledged to fight Global Climate Change

(Saint Paul, Minn.) The Minnesota Natural Legacy Campaign (MNLC) today applauded Mayor Chris Coleman and the Saint Paul City Council for joining the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Saint Paul is the fifth city in Minnesota to join the agreement, pledging to make a reduction in the city’s global warming pollution to combat global climate change.

In addition to Saint Paul, the following cities in Minnesota have signed the agreement, Eden Prairie, Apple Valley, Duluth, and Minneapolis.

“In the face of overwhelming scientific evidence on the damaging effects of global warming, more elected officials like Mayor Chris Coleman are standing up and taking matters into their own hands,” said Kelly Scanlan, state coordinator for the MNLC, a group of community leaders who recognize that stopping global climate change will create economic opportunity and preserve Minnesota’s natural heritage. “We hope that our elected officials in Washington, DC follow Mayor Coleman’s lead and take action soon.”

Minnesotans have already begun to notice the effects of climate change. Recently, both the St. Paul Winter Carnival ice-fishing contest and the Power Ice Auger World Championships on Pelican Lake were canceled due to warmer weather.
“This year’s warm winter is a sign that we are already starting to see the effects of global climate change in Minnesota,” said Scanlan. “Mayor Coleman is showing real leadership by taking action to deal with climate change before we face even greater problems.”

The U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement is a nationwide coalition of more than 200 cities in 38 states that have pledged to:

• Strive to meet or exceed the targets set by international treaties for reducing carbon emission in their own communities;
• Lobby their state governments, and the federal government, to enact measures to meet or surpass the global warming pollution reduction targets suggested for the United States under international agreements;
• Urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan global warming pollution reduction legislation, which would establish a national emission trading system.

The coalition of mayors is made up of cities across the country, including Dayton, OH, Louisville, KY, and Kansas City, MO. The agreement was launched on February 16, 2005 by Seattle mayor Greg Nickels.

“The popularity of the agreement is proof that there is growing support for doing something now,” said Scanlan. “I am confident that support will only increase as more people learn what is happening and what we can do to address the problem.”