Former President Bill Clinton to Headline Mayors’ Climate Summit in Seattle

Seattle Press Release

Former President Bill Clinton will join the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels during a national climate protection summit and first meeting of the signatories of the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement scheduled for November 1-2 in Seattle, Wash.

The Seattle summit will be the largest-ever meeting of American mayors devoted solely to climate protection. The theme of the two-day conference is accelerating local leadership. It will bring city leaders from across the country together to promote effective solutions to global warming at the local and national level. More than 100 mayors are expected to attend the event.

“Mayors from around the nation are not waiting to take action to help solve the threat of global warming - they are doing something about it right now,” Nickels said. “This summit will give us a chance to share real-world solutions and learn from those who are making a difference in protecting our planet.”

“The nation's mayors are pleased to welcome President Clinton to our climate protection summit. As President, he worked closely with the nation's mayors to meet the challenges we face everyday in our cities. Since he left office, he has supported efforts by cities who are leading the way to meet the climate protection goals necessary to save our planet. Together, with his leadership and continued action by the nation's mayors, we will make a difference," said U.S. Conference of Mayors President, Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer.

Mayor Nickels spearheaded the US Mayor Climate Protection Agreement in 2005, challenging colleagues from around the country to join him in pledging to significantly cut climate-warming pollution in their cities. The U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously adopted the agreement. And to date, more than 660 mayors representing more than 73 million Americans have taken the pledge.

President Clinton has been an international leader in the effort to fight global warming through his Clinton Climate Initiative, which promotes climate pollution-reducing initiatives in 40 of the largest cities in the world.

For a list of best practices and more information on what the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Center is doing to reduce global warming in American cities, please visit: usmayors.org/climateprotection/

Visit the mayor’s web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor