El Paso to discuss joining mayors in upholding Paris Climate Agreement goals
El Paso’s city council will discuss joining more than 300 mayors across the country in upholding Paris Climate Agreement goals.
The item was posted in Tuesday’s city council agenda. City representative Peter Svarzbein tells ABC-7 he posted the item to help El Paso continue what it’s already been doing: protecting the environment.
More than 343 mayors across the country, including Mayor Ken Miyagishima, have agreed to be a part of Climate Mayors or Mayors Climate Action Agenda. Tuesday’s proposal would direct the city manager to draft a resolution for the mayor to sign.
“I think it shows that El Paso again is the city that’s moving in the right direction it shows a city that’s engaged, with topics of national and international concern, and it also shows a city that’s willing to work with other cities as well for the betterment of our world,” Rep. Svarzbein said.
Svarzbein tells ABC-7 the city is already on the right track.
“We’ve been on the forefront of water conservation, with the El Paso water utility, the Brio the streetcar line, these are all multi mobile transit opportunities that allow our city and our citizens to cut down on our carbon emission to be able to use a comprehensive transportation system that we’re building for the 21st century.”
The agreement is a non-binding resolution, which means there is no binding or financial commitment, but an agreement to, among other things, meet U.S greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Paris Climate Accord.
Cary Westin, Deputy City Manager for the Economic Development and Tourism Department says El Paso’s efforts to preserve energy began three years ago, when the city was awarded the “100 Resilient Cities Grant.”
“These are to mitigate some of the effects of different stressors or friction points to a community,” Westin said.
Westin tells ABC-7 it’s helped make the community more sustainable in different areas. He says the city added more Brio transit lines and incentives for commercial development in those routes. The city also implemented unique water technology next to their desalination plant, producing 11,000 more fresh gallons of water daily.
“It takes all the waste brine from the water that you’d normally have to put back in the aquifer and it extracts that out and you’re increasing the life of the aquifer,” Westin said.
It’s unclear if the resolution will be approved, but Svarzbein tells ABC-7 he’s hopeful it will.
“At the end of the day, what kind of city do we want to be? Are we a city that takes the lead when it comes to these issues of the environment like we have with water conservation? Or do we want to ignore what’s happening?”
The item will be discussed Tuesday. Stay with ABC-7 for the latest.
