Iowa City Mayor signs initiatives supporting Paris Agreement

Iowa City Mayor Jim Throgmorton has joined thousands of mayors across the country in support of the Paris Agreement.

The United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement last week and in response the Mayor has signed two letters acknowledging his and the City Councils’ support of the international climate agreement and its goals.

Throgmorton recently signed an open letter with support from the Compact of Mayors and Global Covenant of Mayors for Energy and Climate.

He also signed the Climate Mayors Statement to adopt the Paris Agreement Goals. By signing the statement, he became a member of Climate Mayors, a network of nearly 200 U.S. mayors working together to strengthen local efforts for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and support efforts for binding federal and global-level policy making.

The City of Iowa City is committed to reducing the effects of climate change. In February 2016, the Mayor signed the Compact of Mayors, a global coalition of city leaders that launched at the 2014 United Nations Climate Summit to address climate change. By joining, he committed Iowa City to climate action by taking stock of greenhouse emissions, the current effect of climate change in the City and other efforts.

The City has set a greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 26-28 percent by 2025 and 80 percent by 2050. They are currently in the process of creating their first Climate Action Plan to develop strategies reach their emission goals.

The City recently established its first Climate Action Steering Committee to help create the action plan.

Public forums on the plan will be scheduled throughout 2017.