Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi introduced landmark climate change legislation on Tuesday, September 11th, that seeks to set targets and establish a coordinated strategy for reducing San Francisco's greenhouse gas emissions over the next half-century.
Integrating local and state climate change policies into a coordinated strategy, Mirkarimi's proposed ordinance would require San Francisco to update its 2004 climate action plan -- which was never officially adopted -- and adopt yearly reduction targets that allow the city to achieve its 2012 and 2030 goals in terms of reduced emissions. The measure would assert San Francisco's civic leadership in responding to a growing global consensus that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by as much as 80 percent of 1990 levels by 2050 in order to prevent catastrophic climate change.
"The glacial pace that our federal and state governments are working to confront the degrading impact of global warming demands a serious response," stated Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi. "Even the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury reports in June 2007, that our City is no where on pace to adequately meet its emission reduction targets as set by resolution in 2002 - it's time we take our role seriously with law that compels change," Mirkarimi remarked.
Mirkarimi's proposed ordinance would require city departments to prepare emission reduction action plans for their own operations and for the activities they regulate, while the Department of the Environment would be charged with coordinating the overall effort and monitoring the city's performance.
In other San Francisco green news courtesy of San Francisco Business Times, Cisco Systems and the City of San Francisco are looking to technology to battle climate change.
San Francisco is one of three cities initially selected by the San Jose-based networking giant to take part in its Connected Urban Development Initiative. Cisco is deploying expertise, equipment and research to Seoul, Amsterdam and San Francisco for the $15 million, five-year program.
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