Cities' vows to cut gas emissions questioned
'Many will miss goals by a wide margin,' report says
Updated 10:00 pm, Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Nearly 360 U.S. mayors representing more
Cities' vows to cut gas emissions questioned
'Many will miss goals by a wide margin,' report says
Updated 10:00 pm, Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Nearly 360 U.S. mayors representing more than 55.5 million Americans have pledged to dramatically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
But although the vows may have generated warm, fuzzy feelings about helping Mother Earth, an early analysis finds that the cities are not on track for making needed cuts in planet-warming pollutants.
The cities signing on to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement want to meet or beat the goals of the international Kyoto Protocol, which means reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Every state but South Dakota has a city onboard.
Not only are the cities expected to miss the mark, a report released Monday states, "Many will miss their goals by a wide margin."
The study was done by the Minneapolis-based Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a 33-year- old, liberal-leaning, non-profit group.
Those working to reduce emissions disagree with that finding. They said that the 17-page study comes too soon to conclude the goals won't be met. Some questioned the validit