[Online Exclusive]: Politicians form alliance to reduce urban pollution

Click
here to watch DB VIDEO coverage of British Prime Minister Tony
Blair’s speech.
Tuesday afternoon secret service
agents diverted students passing near the UCLA Anderson School of
Management, which played host to several politicians including
former President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony
Blair. Included among those present were Los Angeles Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa and, because of their cities’ environmental
records, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and London Mayor Ken
Livingstone. All were there to witness and discuss an alliance
between the Clinton Climate Initiative and the Large Cities Climate
Leadership Group, which Livingstone started last October as a means
for large cities to band together and collectively reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. Some of the cities included in the
alliance are Los Angeles, London, Houston, Mexico City, Rome and
Seoul. Near the end of the meeting, Clinton and Livingstone signed
an agreement representing all cities in the arrangement, which
states that the Clinton Initiative and the leadership group will
work together toward reducing individual cities’ pollution
production. “We can’t think about global warming as
some far-away problem of melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels
and distant hurricanes. It’s our problem, here in the city of
Los Angeles,” Villaraigosa said. “This is a global
problem with global repercussions. The time to act is now.”
Though speakers at the meeting said they believe greenhouse gas
emissions are contributing to a dangerous warming of the global
environment ““ which Livingstone called “the biggest
single threat that faces human civilization” ““ they
were also optimistic about their ability to solve the problem.
“The consensus now is that the (environmental) tipping point
now is most probably 10 to 15 years away at best and therefore it
is incredibly urgent that we move on all fronts to tackle this
problem,” he said. But all five politicians present said
despite the severity of the problem, the solution is deceptively
simple. “We know what needs to be done,” Clinton said.
“We have to use less energy and find cleaner sources.”
The Clinton Initiative will apply three business-oriented tactics
which have been used successfully by the foundation in the past,
Clinton said. First, the foundation will create a purchasing
consortium so the participating cities can pool their funds and buy
energy-saving products in bulk for a lower cost. Second, a team of
experts will be deployed to cities to help them in achieving their
goals. Last, a standard form of measurement will be established so
cities can have a universal means of gauging their progress in
reducing emissions.

“We want to help to create systems to measure greenhouse
gas uses and energy emissions … and then to share all the
information,” Clinton said. Clinton said the idea that it is
impossible for a country to increase economic viability without
putting out greenhouse gasses is defunct, and there are
considerable economic advantages to going green.

“This is important for me not only because of climate
change, but for national security reasons and because, as the
United Kingdom has shown, it’s actually the only viable
economic strategy,” he said. Blair said he hopes to reach
those outside of Korn Convocation Hall and inspire the community
into action. “We have our work cut out for us in the
international community. … We have got to have a binding
framework and binding targets,” Blair said. “We have to
combine the collective experiences of cities and feed off of each
other.” All three mayors also discussed the progress they
have made in their cities. Livingstone said in London he increased
the price of fuel and charged people who drove into the city, and
that through incentives people can begin to make an impact.
Villaraigosa outlined Los Angeles’ plan to reduce emissions
throughout the city by 20 percent and eventually run a subway all
the way to the beach. He also said he plans on planting 1 million
new trees in Los Angeles and improving the efficiency of the
city’s waste-management system. “We’re looking at
every measure we have to conserve every watt of energy, every drop
of water,” he said. Chancellor Norman Abrams said that UCLA
is doing its part to combat global environment change. UCLA has
already built one green building and most of the school’s
vehicles run on alternative energy sources, he said.

With reports from Sara Taylor, Bruin senior staff.

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