TITLE
A Resolution of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, urging the Chief Executive to take action to reduce global warming pollution levels in Allegheny County by meeting or exceeding the Kyoto Protocol target for the United States, which calls for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by seven percent (7%) below 1990 levels by 2012.
BODY
WHEREAS, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the international community's most respected assemblage of scientists, has found that climate disruption is a reality and that human activities are largely responsible for increasing concentrations of global warming pollution; and
WHEREAS, the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to address climate disruption, is in effect in the 163 countries that have ratified it to date; with 38 of those countries having implemented legal requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on average 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012; and
WHEREAS, in July 2006, on the occasion of the G8 Summit, the G8 countries will gather in Russia to address the major challenges of climate change, energy sustainability and security; and
WHEREAS, although the United States officially withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, over 200 cities and counties in 38 states have pledged to reduce their global warming emissions, and these local governments are lowering energy bills, saving taxpayer dollars, and protecting our environment; and
WHEREAS, many cities and counties are reducing global warming pollutants through programs that provide economic and quality of life benefits such as reduced energy bills, green space preservation, air quality improvements, reduced traffic congestion, improved transportation choices, and economic development and job creation through energy conservation and new energy technologies; and
WHEREAS, Allegheny County is committed to the effort to reduce the United States' dependence on fossil fuels and accelerate the develo...
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