Reading launching climate protection

Reading (MA, U.S.A.) recently joined the CCP^® Campaign being run out of ICLEI’s USA Office.
 

A volunteer committee is now finishing a 67-page report of emissions slashing ideas, 37 of them in total, that range from eliciting conservation pledges from businesses and residents to establishing a ride-share program.
 

Efforts already underway in Reading include a study by the Reading Municipal Lighting Department on how to reduce demand and boost the supply of renewable energy.  The city is also putting in bicycle racks around the city.
 

The volunteer committee has concluded, however, that reducing vehicle use is a top priority; 57 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions come from cars and trucks.  Efforts being considered include a shuttle bus service to ferry residents to the commuter train, and launching a community-wide “no idling” campaign.
 

More and more cities are facing the need to mitigate climate change while already adapting to the changes brought about by climate change.  ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection^® (CCP) Campaign is an innovative international campaign that helps local government and their communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the environment.   And now, the CCP Campaign is launching the Adaptation Initiative, building capacity for climate change impacts at the local level.  For more information, please visit www.iclei.org/ccp.
 

Reading is one of 265 local governments in the U.S.A. that are currently Members of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.  For more information on ICLEI and its activities in the U.S.A., please visit www.iclei.org/usa.
 

Source:  “It Takes a Town”, Boston Globe, 18 November 2007.