Kansas City, MO Undertaking a Climate Protection Planning Process

Type: Resolution

Status: Adopted on 8/17/06

Vote: Unanimous

Source File: Click here

Text:

SECOND COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR RESOLUTION NO. 060777
Directing the City Manager and the City's Chief Environmental Officer to undertake a Climate Protection Planning Process for the City of Kansas City, Missouri.

WHEREAS, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international assemblage of scientists, has found that climate disruptions, such as rising global sea levels and nine of the ten hottest years on record occurring in the past decade, is a reality and that human activities are largely responsible for increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions; and

WHEREAS, many leading U.S. companies have adopted greenhouse gas reduction programs to demonstrate corporate social responsibility.

WHEREAS, state and local governments throughout the United States are adopting emission reduction programs and that this leadership is bipartisan among governors and mayors alike; and

WHEREAS, many cities throughout the nation, both large and small, are reducing greenhouse gas emissions through programs that provide economic and quality of life benefits such as reduced energy bills, green space preservation, air quality improvements, reduced traffic congestion, improved transportation choices, job creation, and economic growth through energy conservation and new energy technologies;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

Section 1. That the City Manager is hereby directed to undertake a Climate Protection Planning Process for the City in active consultation with the community; conduct an inventory of existing city programs and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; establish goals to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while preserving economic development, transportation options and the ability of responsible producers of energy to provide a stable and cost-effective energy supply; provide necessary staffing and resources for that process; establish a task force representing all stakeholders including membership from the Environmental Management Commission to provide input; and, by 2007, recommend for City Council consideration specific actions that the City will implement.

Section 2. That Kansas City will work in conjunction with International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the Mid-America Regional Council, and other appropriate organizations to develop a Climate Protection Plan for the City.

Section 3. That the task force/steering committee established to guide the process of developing a Climate Protection Plan for Kansas City be comprised of not more than eleven members, balanced among stakeholder interests, and appointed by the Mayor.