From Deseret News archives:
Rocky helps craft environmental pact
Mayor attends meetings with U.N. in Argentina
And that effort, in conjunction with the city of San Francisco, other municipal leaders and the Cities for Climate Protection, is expected to lead to a series of comprehensive "urban environmental accords" that cities worldwide will adopt this June.
Anderson's participation in the global effort began in earnest this week as the mayor attended the United Nations' 10th meeting of the Conference of Parties, COP 10, in Buenos Aries, Argentina.
The accords, which are being crafted with input from several municipal leaders, are slated to be finalized in time for the United Nations' World Environmental Day in San Francisco on June 5.
"We're in the process of writing them and actually just went through our first review process in Buenos Aires," said Michelle Pawar, executive director of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives said. "We sat down with a group of mayors there, including Mayor Anderson, and presented our first draft and got their input."
Anderson said Thursday he plans to be in San Francisco on June 5 to sign Salt Lake City into the accords along with municipal leaders ICLEI chose from 100 of the most environmentally friendly cities worldwide.
"We've been putting together programs that can be replicated by other communities," Anderson said. "Once these communities see how relatively easy it is, and sometimes even with significant cost savings to taxpayers, we expect that our efforts will be replicated and there will be a real positive difference in reversing the trend toward global warming."
The accords will spell out environmental commitments that participating cities will pledge to keep. Those commitments include promises similar to those Kyoto Protocol nations have made to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. commitment would have been a 7 percent reduction of 1990 levels by 2012, but President Bush opted not to join the protocol.
But the local accords will go a few steps further.
"It will be an even broader environmental agenda," Anderson said.
Pawar said there actually will be seven accords dealing with air, water, open space, energy, transportation and other issues.
While in Argentina, Anderson detailed his Salt Lake City Green initiative, which includes converting to energy efficient light bulbs and traffic signals, purchasing wind power, operating compressed natural gas vehicles, capturing methane gas at the municipal landfill and installing a cogeneration facility at the city's sewer treatment plant.
Many of those initiatives will be key if cities want to meet the requirements of the new accords, Anderson said.
"Salt Lake City's programs have been so comprehensive and effective that the international community really looks at our community as a model of what municipal government can do both to reduce greenhouse gas emission and criteria air pollutants, which cause the kind of smog we see through this valley today," he said.
Locally, Anderson has been in discussions with Gov.-elect Jon Huntsman Jr. and Salt Lake County Mayor-elect Peter Corroon about joining in Salt Lake City's efforts.
The urban accords will mesh with World Environment Day, which has the theme of "Green Cities" this year.
The daylong conference will "promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues," according to the United Nations.
E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com
