[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Report on DC trip

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Appelbaum, Matt


Colleagues – Hi again.  One more trip report, this one a quick visit to DC last week.  We were invited to attend an event at the State Department as part of their Our Cities, Our Climate
initiative.  As best as I can tell, State, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, took a group of mayors (most/all from outside the US) on a tour of three US cities to discuss climate change issues.  The DC event was, I think, a wrap-up of that effort.
 
I was specifically invited to take part in a small-group meeting with the lead US negotiator on COP21, who described the US efforts and the likely outcome of the COP.  I had heard much
of this previously and I don’t think we were made privy to any secrets, but it certainly was interesting hearing from him.  We also got an update on some of the administration’s efforts in the US on climate change mitigation.  I managed to get a question in and also had a short chat with some of the State folks as well as Bloomberg, who also attended.  This small group consisted of only eleven mayors from around the world, with five (I believe) from the US.  I’m not entirely sure why we were invited – more about that below – but perhaps our presence at the upcoming COP21 had been considered. 

 
Following the meeting, there was a reception and lunch, which, to my surprise, was a big affair for perhaps 300 people – in a lovely ballroom in State.  I met a couple of folks I know from ICLEI and IMT, and we heard fairly brief talks from both Secretary Kerry and Michael Bloomberg.  I’ll append this email with some of their comments that were sent to me.  In addition, we learned that a photographer from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs was at the events and those photos can be found here: 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/exchangesphotos/sets/72157659353023895.  Note that I didn’t stay for a panel discussion after lunch, the media event, or the later reception since I had other meetings to attend.
 
In addition, while I was in DC for a day, Carl set up a few meetings for me.  I started with Sen. Gardner, assisted by one of our DC lobbyists who works with the US36 MCC and whom I’ve known well for many years.  The senator was able to stay for only perhaps ten minutes, but we took that opportunity to thank him for his efforts (along with Sen. Bennet) at changing the definition of BRT in the transportation bill; while it wasn’t everything we wanted (and of course still needs to get through the completely dysfunctional House) it was a good step in the right direction.  I also took the opportunity to bring up the Marketplace Fairness Act (since renamed) regarding Internet sales – which Sen. Gardner also supports.  We then talked with one of his staff in more detail about transportation issues.
 
After the State event, I raced over to meet with two DOE staff people – one of whom, conveniently, I’ve known for many years.  My main goal was to thank DOE for their very important REDI  grant that we recently received for the purpose of creating a micro-grid “island” of electric power certainty at our water treatment plant on 63rd St.  We also chatted about a number of other issues, included our muni efforts and other ways Boulder could work with DOE.
 
For my last meeting, with another of our US36 MCC lobbying team, I met with staff at Sen. Bennet’s office for a discussion of transportation issues.
 
As for why we decided to attend this particular State event: we get invited not infrequently to similar events in DC since Boulder in general and to some extent I in particular are well-known to the administration as being very active in climate change / sustainability / resilience issues.  These are most often for short meetings and with little advance warning, so we haven’t attended them.  However, it seemed that we should attend one from time to time so that Boulder continues to be considered an important player in these issues – which of course we are.  I’d add that particularly in this year of COP21 we have also been invited to any number of other events/conferences both in the US and overseas,
but with no funding attached, and with it generally being the case that only the mayor was being invited, we haven’t gone to any of them.  I will be going to the COP21, but as I’ve noted previously, that will be as part of an NLC (partnering with ICLEI) delegation that is being paid for by NLC and its partners.
 
Finally, a note about the cost of this trip to the State event.  Initially, since I had another reason for going, I paid the airfare and Boulder was going to pay for the one hotel night. Just before leaving, we learned that Bloomberg had hotel accommodations for the invited guests so I quickly switched hotels.  I then later learned that Bloomberg was also going to pay for airfare; assuming they indeed do so this was certainly a good choice of an event to attend.  As usual, I’ll pick up the cost of other transportation and food so that there will be no cost at all to our city.
 
--Matt


Secretary Kerry and Michael Bloomberg, currently serving as the U.N. Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, welcomed mayors from cities worldwide on October 8 to meet for

Our Cities, Our Climate. This event also marked the announcement of Cities at State, an initiative to enhance coordination with cities in the space where foreign policy and urbanization meet on issues ranging from economic opportunity to security.
 
A partnership between the State Department and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Our Cities, Our Climate brought together mayors and city officials to discuss ways to work together to combat climate change. Participants shared best practices, discussed solutions and accelerated the progress the world's cities are making to address the global challenge of climate change.
 
Several international mayors were in attendance, representing cities such as Lagos, Rio de Janeiro, Yokohama and Vancouver. Mayors from various U.S. cities also participated, including from Anchorage, Orlando and
 Detroit, which recently opened its first office of international affairs. 
 
"Every year we hear that that year was hotter than the year preceding, and we see the effects. And the bad news is that cities will be particularly hit if we don't take meaningful action to fight climate change," said Secretary Kerry, in his 
remarks during a luncheon at Our Cities, Our Climate. "The good news is - and there is good news - that the steps that cities themselves take in the coming years can actually tip the scale toward a successful global response to this challenge."
 

Secretary Kerry poses for a photo with U.N. Special Envoy Michael Bloomberg (center, wearing green tie) at the Our Cities, Our Climate event at the State Department.

"The answer to climate change is not a mystery. It's not some pie-in-the-sky policy that we haven't discovered yet," Secretary Kerry said. "It is staring us in the face, folks. It's called clean energy. It is that simple. And we're simply not going to get where we need to be unless we move rapidly towards a global, low-carbon, clean energy economy.
 
"And today, the world's cities account for more than two-thirds of all global energy use. That's one of the reasons why cities are important. Cities are responsible for 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. And if we change the way we power our cities, then we will change the way we power our world and, in the process, we may well save it."
 
In working toward this end, Secretary Kerry highlighted several examples of programs and goals that cities have adopted to reduce the effects of climate change.

Berlin created a campaign to plant 10,000 new trees along the streets by 2017. 

Buenos Aires launched Argentina's first bike-sharing program.

Vancouver set a goal of obtaining 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050.

Jakarta launched the first Bus Rapid Transit system in Southern and Southeastern Asia, which is reducing road congestion and air pollution. 


"Now,obviously, no two cities are alike. But many have the same goals and they face the same challenges when it comes to de-carbonizing their local economies," Secretary Kerry said. "And that's why the State Department and Bloomberg Philanthropies created the Our Cities, Our Climate Exchange for city officials across the globe: because we want to create a platform for urban leaders to share their individual successes and to exchange ideas about those future projects that can make a difference."
 
Additional Information

Secretary Kerry and U.N. Special Envoy Bloomberg joint op-ed: 
All Climate Change is Local 
DipNote post: Cities as Partners for Healthy Oceans 






























































 
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