All politics is local — even climate change

IN 1997, the international community met in Kyoto, Japan, to address the global threat of climate change. One by one, nations committed to this compact. Six years ago last week, the Kyoto Protocol became the law of the land in 141 countries of the world.

Unfortunately, the United States was not one of them.

The treaty requires industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions 7 percent below 1990 levels before the end of 2012. Today, 192 countries are working feverishly to comply with the Kyoto carbon-reduction target.

By 2008, these countries had reduced their greenhouse-gas emissions 6.3 percent below 1990 levels. Although this is just the first step, these nations have demonstrated that a global agreement to reduce carbon emissions can work.

Our country's use of fossil fuels accounts for 20 percent of the global greenhouse-gas releases, but the United States has yet to establish a national policy for carbon reduction. The recent midterm election has pushed federal climate and energy legislation even further into the future.

Fortunately, the rest of the world is not waiting on Congress. For that matter, neither are the people of the United States.

On the day the Kyoto Protocol went into effect, as mayor, I pledged that Seattle would reduce its emissions by the amount called for in the treaty and I challenged other mayors to join me. So far, 1,047 mayors representing 87 million Americans have committed themselves by signing the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement.

With no breakthrough in reaching an international agreement to succeed the Kyoto Treaty, and action in Congress unlikely in the near future, there is a need for action to improve the chances for long-term success and to make immediate strides in reducing emissions.

In a sense, these strategies are not new, but build upon leadership at the local level. I believe three simple steps will achieve substantial progress:

• Increase capacity at the local level

Thankfully, our cities are ready for the challenge. With the new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), the federal government is providing cities with resources to create new energy solutions and bring their efforts up to scale. Innovations are springing up across the country, and jobs are being created in every corner of our nation.

The president's recently announced Better Building Challenge and the Race to Green initiative will spur new carbon reduction breakthroughs. The Barr Foundation is investing $50 million in the city of Boston to reduce that community's carbon footprint.

Nowhere is there more low-hanging fruit than in the U.S.

• Create a climate "ground game"

The science of climate change has been greatly muddled by those who deny that the climate is changing or that it is largely caused by the burning of fossil-fuel. This is enabled in part by the discomfort people have with change, even necessary change, and in part by the remote nature of the perceived threat.

To counter this, grass-roots efforts will be needed to overcome our reluctance to change and make the issue safe to tackle in city halls and state capitals. Fortunately, there are benefits derived above and beyond carbon-emission reduction — namely jobs created and real savings from energy conserved.

It will be up to the federal government to empower cities to succeed. We can do this, even in this climate of budget cutbacks. Every year, Congress gives $2 billion in corporate tax breaks to the immensely profitable oil and gas industry. If, instead, we invest these resources into our cities, like the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, we will create tens of thousands of jobs in our own communities and support the national transition to a low-carbon energy future.

Consider just one example. In the city of Edmonds, just one energy-efficiency project in their wastewater-treatment facility will reduce the entire city's electricity load by more than 1 percent. After 3.7 years, ratepayers will be fully paid back from energy cost savings. In 10 years, ratepayers will experience a 26 percent rate of return on this investment.

This type of low-hanging fruit exists in cities across the United States.

• Connect U.S. efforts with others around the world

The U.S. has been defensive in large part because of the failure to get energy legislation through Congress.

Person-to-person contact between local leaders, business people and activists can help the U.S. understand best practices around the world and reassure the rest of the world that the U.S. takes its responsibility seriously and is acting. Integrating U.S. aid for climate-change mitigation and adaptation with connecting Americans with their peers elsewhere (e.g. mayors) can help greatly to increase mutual understanding and the sharing of best practices.

The fundamental challenge remains that each of us will need to change our behavior. We need to transition from a culture of conspicuous consumption to a culture of conscientious conservation. The fundamental way we power our economies will have to evolve. No other issue has connected people so universally, across geography and generations, as this.

Each of us can play a personal role in creating a shared understanding of the problem and instilling a sense of hope around a challenge unique in human experience.

The success of Kyoto has been that nearly 200 nations are making good on their pledge to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The planet is in better shape because of their efforts. Now, we must redouble our local and personal commitment. We must harness the political and community will of 1,000 U.S. cities, and through this effort, we will show the rest of the world what U.S. innovation is capable of — one city and one person at a time.