Seattle reports milestone in cutting emissions
Seattle is one of the first major U.S. cities to claim it has cut greenhouse-gas emissions enough to meet the targets of the international Kyoto treaty aimed at combating global warming.
The achievement, at a time when the city has enjoyed a boom in population and jobs, sets Seattle apart both from the nation as a whole and other cities that have seen greenhouse gases soar in recent years.
But keeping a lid on such emissions in the future means confronting one of the city's most intractable problems: how to get people out of their cars and driving less.
While overall greenhouse-gas emissions fell by 8 percent between 1990 and 2005 — the most recent data available — the amount attributed to transportation rose 3 percent, due largely to more gas slurped up by cars, according to a draft report issued by the city on Monday.
"This is a remarkable milestone that shows how cities can lead the way in the fight against global warming," Mayor Greg Nickels said. "But it is just the start of our work."
Although critics say trying to meet the Kyoto targets nationwide would hurt the economy without solving global warming, supporters call it a critical first step toward much deeper reductions needed to slow or even reverse the warming.
Seattle's reductions were largely the result of energy conservation by households and businesses, and changes in power production at Seattle City Light, the report said.
The announcement was a triumph for Nickels, who has made climate change a cornerstone of his administration and hosts a global-warming conference of U.S. mayors this week.
Nickels has lobbied the nation's mayors to sign a pledge promising to meet the Kyoto Protocol's target of cutting greenhouse gases to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. More than 650 mayors have joined the movement, which is aimed partly at pressuring the federal government to join the international treaty.
The Bush administration has opposed the treaty, which doesn't restrict emissions from developing countries such as China and India that are among major sources of greenhouse gases. In 1999, the U.S. Senate voted 95-0 against the treaty.
The reductions in emissions from homes, cars and factories in Seattle can't be credited to the citywide climate-change plan, which Nickels unveiled in 2006.
The City Council first passed a resolution adopting the Kyoto goals in 2001, before Nickels took office.
Part of the cuts are due to changes in power production at Seattle City Light, which provides clean-running hydropower to homes and businesses.
"We have the good fortune of owning our own utility," said Steve Nicholas, head of the city's Office of Sustainability and Environment.
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Seattle reports milestone in cutting emissions
