City of Tacoma Joins Compact of Mayors Working to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Tacoma, Wash. - Today, Mayor Marilyn Strickland joined the Compact of Mayors, an international coalition of cities led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and launched by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. This global coalition is committed to reducing carbon emissions and maintaining a commitment to mitigating climate change through public reporting of emissions levels. The City of Tacoma's participation will demonstrate its ambitious commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gases and responsible environmental stewardship. "Local government has the power to address climate change in a measurable way," said Strickland. "As one of the largest cities in the Pacific Northwest, our residents expect a quality of life that preserves our natural resources and has clean air. The City of Tacoma is now a national leader in smart growth, emissions reduction and energy efficiency. I look forward to sharing our great work with other cities across the globe." The Compact of Mayors will standardize the way that Cities report on climate data, making best practices easier to identify. Once targets and a standard system of measurement are put into place, the Compact requires cities to establish an action plan for delivering on the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "Cities are where we are seeing the most urgent action on carbon pollution reduction and innovation to tackle this most critical world problem," said Council Member Ryan Mello. "I am pleased that the City of Tacoma is taking on this challenge with a robust Environmental Action Plan to make our buildings more energy efficient, transform our transportation infrastructure, and reduce our greenhouse gas impact to our climate." MEDIA CONTACT Brad Forbes, Office of Mayor Marilyn Strickland, bforbes@cityoftacoma.org<mailto:bforbes@cityoftacoma.org>, (253) 591-5166 Want to learn more? Join us for the second of three Climate Conversations<http://www.cityoftacoma.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=169&pageId=90374> on November 16th at 6:30 p.m. in the University of Puget Sound's Wheelock Rotunda<http://www.pugetsound.edu/about/campus-the-northwest/campus-map/>. A panel of experts from Sightline, Climate Solutions, Carbon WA, and the Washington State Governor's Office will discuss climate policy and pricing at the state, national, and international levels. What would putting a price on carbon pollution look and feel like for our planet and economy? Is it really the silver bullet? What could happen here in Washington and at the crucial United Nations climate talks coming up in Paris? Find out more about the Climate Conversations series<http://www.cityoftacoma.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=169&pageId=90374> and RSVP<http://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-conversations-registration-18787926193> today!