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New York, NY – Portland, Oregon, a city of less than a million people, was invited to participate with the world’s forty largest cities in today’s Climate Summit called by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former President Bill Clinton.

 

The invitation reflects Portland’s status a world leader in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In 1993, Portland was the first U.S. city to establish a Global Warming Action Plan , with a goal of reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2010. Since then, the city has successfully reduced per capita emissions 12.5 percent, and overall emissions have remained flat. This compares to a national increase of about 13 percent in overall emissions in the same period.

 

Commissioner Erik Sten traveled to New York for the two-day summit where big-city mayors from around the world met to discuss the role of cities in slowing and preparing for climate change.

 

“It’s incredible to see mayors from all over the world come together to tackle this critical issue,” Commissioner Sten said. “It’s clear that Portland’s early work on this has paid off. Now we can work with others to find a global urban strategy.”

 

During the meeting, Commissioner Sten focused on defining how Portland can export lessons learned from a decade and more of emissions reduction strategies, from city planning to transportation investments. One key, said Sten, is connecting Portland businesses with the new global marketplace for carbon reduction expertise.

 

“Portland is home to developers, architects, engineers, fashion designers, farmers, energy experts and hundreds of other business people who already know the ins and outs of how to get things done in a better way,” said Sten. “We are poised to send this expertise to cities all over the world.”

 

To learn more about Portland’s Global Warming Action Plan visit www.Portlandonline.com/osd.

 

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