Several leading pro-microgrid cities and states are taking a dim view of President Donald Trump’s move last week to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.
Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto was one of the most vocal to condemn the move after Trump used Pittsburgh to justify the withdrawal. Trump specifically said he was acting on behalf of the citizens “of Pittsburgh not Paris.”
Credit: Ron Mader
To the contrary, Peduto says, his city is all in on the international climate agreement.
“I’m appalled that the President used my city to justify his unacceptable decision, as most other Pittsburghers are,” Peduto said in a prepared statement. “I was one of the nation’s mayors who went to Paris to fight for the accords, and my city, which has finally bounced back from decades of industrial carnage, will do all it can to promote its own environmental standards.”
Pittsburgh was recently featured in Microgrid Knowledge for its planned grid of microgrids. The city also is pursuing a range of other green initiatives, including smart building upgrades, renewable energy goals and electric vehicle transportation planning.
Underscoring Pittsburgh’s commitment to the Paris accord, Peduto issued an executive order to further promote the city’s climate control initiatives.
Peduto also is among 246 mayors (as of June 5), who have signed a petition pledging to
“adopt, honor, and uphold the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement.” In addition to Pittsburgh, some of the pro-microgrid cities on the ‘Climate Mayors’ list are Boston, New York, Hoboken, and San Diego.
Several states, many of them leaders in promoting microgrids, also showed support of the Paris agreement by joining the U.S. Climate Alliance.
Formed by the governors of California, New York and Washington, the alliance intends to pick up the mantle of leading on climate change initiatives, where the federal government has pulled back.
As of June 5, the three states were joined by Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
The states are pursuing a goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 26-28 percent from 2005 levels and to meet or exceed the targets of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan.
Track news about pro-microgrid cities and states. Follow Microgrid Knowledge on Twitter @MicrogridNews.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Very bad idea, lumping pro-microgrid city of Pittsburgh with old-school energy. ” quote=”Very bad idea, lumping the #microgrid city of Pittsburgh with old-school energy. “]
