Honolulu Mayor and US Climate Mayors Push to Uphold Paris Climate Agreement

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, in his role as a leader with the Steering Committee of the national US Climate Mayors network, signed on to a letter sent today by nearly 200 mayors to Congressional leaders urging bold action to protect our planet and build a more just economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Representing a network of 461 US Climate Mayors across the country committed to upholding the Paris climate agreement, Climate Mayors called on Congress to invest in an economic recovery that injects more resilience, equity, and sustainability into our communities.

“As yet another hurricane comes our way, it’s a reminder that the climate crisis didn’t disappear when COVID-19 hit our island community,” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “I stand with all four mayors in Hawaiʻi who together call on the federal government to provide more COVID-19 assistance to local government, and do it in a way that helps us create jobs and transition to a green economy. We can recover from COVID-19 and turn the tide on climate change at the same time if we work together to build back better.”

With the focus squarely on rebuilding the economy and country stronger than ever before, the Climate Mayors group has advocated for a nationwide transition to a zero-carbon economy – a step already happening in cities across the country and a bold move that will create good-paying green jobs, lead to cleaner air and lower emissions, improve public health, support resilience, and lift up our most vulnerable residents. In 2019, Mayor Caldwell hosted the largest Climate Mayors gathering ever in Honolulu, focused around a theme of “Kakou” and how no one should be left behind in the transition to a clean economy.

The global coronavirus pandemic has hit communities of color and low-income families particularly hard – the same families, workers, and neighborhoods who suffer most from the ill effects of climate change, including dangerous emissions, skyrocketing temperatures, intense wildfires, and extreme weather events like floods and hurricanes. Climate Mayors are determined to build a strong, green economy that ensures all Americans are prepared for future health, economic, and environmental shocks.

Recognizing the need to work together at every level of government to move beyond this devastating pandemic, Mayor Caldwell and other Climate Mayors strongly urged federal legislators to work with state and city leadership to build new policies and amplify existing programs that have proven effective.

In the letter, Climate Mayors list several goals that Congress should prioritize as part of the COVID-19 recovery, including:

• Build for a Better Future: Returning to the status quo is not sufficient in meeting the challenges of climate change and inequities in our communities. We must increase our resolve and ambition to reinvest in America’s communities.
• Leading with Equity: Federal investments in our municipalities must prioritize those communities who have been left behind, and frontline communities and people of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change and COVID-19.
• Prioritizing Multiple Benefits: The best investments will create jobs, strengthen communities, and improve health outcomes in our cities and towns.

The letter also includes an appendix with a sample of recommended policies and programs to advance a just, equitable, and resilient economic recovery that will put Americans back to work and create cleaner, healthier, more livable communities. The policy recommendations are accompanied by success stories from Climate Mayors member cities where similar policies have led to community benefit.

While Mayor Caldwell serves on the national Steering Committee for Climate Mayors, Mayor Kim of Hawaiʻi County, Mayor Victorino of the County of Maui, and Mayor Kawakami of the County of Kauaʻi also all signed the letter, making Hawaiʻi the only state in the nation where every single mayor in the state urged Congress to build a more just and clean economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please find a full version of the letter here.

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