At the conclusion of a year that brought continued signs of and warnings about the effects of carbon buildup in our atmosphere, we pause to celebrate the work of ICLEI USA cities and counties — including 41 new members in 2018 — and the supporters in those communities who made local policies and programs a success for your combined 60.5 million residents.
Our thanks to Jennifer Ewing, the City of Bellevue, Cascadia Consulting, Roel Hammerschlag, WSP USA, and all of the nearly 20 participating cities, counties, and regions who contributed to the Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and planning (C-LEAP) Drivers of Change project (Page 14). This U.S. Department of Energy-funded project helped us to collectively advance the state of local climate action planning through a new methodology to better understand and communicate the impact of local programs and external factors on greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory results.
We’re also grateful for our continued partnership with New York City, which took the bold step of exploring fossil fuels divestment to improve the health of its retirees’ pension portfolios in alignment with longtime local GHG reduction commitments. We were happy to release the NYC Divestment Case Study as an outcome of the Global Climate Action Summit (Page 8).
We know there is still much to do to accomplish a just transition to a carbon-neutral economy. As California Governor Jerry Brown and many senior staff members move on, we extend our heartfelt thanks for your climate leadership and support over the past eight years to keep us moving ahead on that path. Finally, thank you to each and every ICLEI member, small, medium, and large. As Governor Brown told me when I had the opportunity to thank him for his work: We all have a role to play – so let’s get to work.