Portland joins Climate Mayors! Now let's act.

Mayor Ethan Strimling and the Portland City Council

Donald Trump might be finished with the Paris climate deal, but the City of Portland isn't.

Mayor Ethan Strimling announced Monday that he is signing onto the Climate Mayors network, a coalition of more than 200 mayors pledging to take action to meet our responsibilities under the Paris deal, regardless of what the federal government does.[1]

Now it's up to the mayor and city council to take action to make it happen.

That's why we started a petition for Portland residents to sign letting the mayor and council know that we support the mayor's decision and want them to follow through with aggressive action to reduce global warming pollution in Portland.

The City of Portland has taken some good steps recently to fight climate change.

Last year, the council voted unanimously to convert the Ocean Avenue Landfill into a solar farm.[2] The council is currently working to update the 2008 Municipal Climate Action Plan for the city by, for instance, setting a goal of powering all city operations with clean energy by 2040.

And on June 5, the council voted 7-1 to strengthen the climate change language in the city's Comprehensive Plan (only Belinda Ray voted no; Jill Duson was absent).

But there's so much more that the city could be doing.

Portland has the lowest per capita solar of any city in New England. Burlington has 9 times more. Boston, Hartford, and Providence have 3 times more. Manchester has 2.5 times more.[3]

Towns from York to Brunswick to Freeport to Waterville have Solarize bulk buying programs up and running. Portland doesn't.[4] Portland last year defeated an amendment to incentivize energy efficiency by reducing fees for green buildings.

These are just a few examples of concrete actions the city could take to meet our obligations under Paris. Will you sign the petition letting the mayor and council know that we want them to follow through with aggressive action to reduce global warming pollution in Portland?

Sponsored by
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Portland, ME

To: Mayor Ethan Strimling and the Portland City Council
From: [Your Name]

Thank you for signing onto the Climate Mayor's network. We urge you to take bold action to follow through and meet our obligations to the Paris deal.