West Windsor council urged to endorse climate agreement

Measure pushed by Environmental Commission

By: Emily Craighead
   WEST WINDSOR — The township Environmental Commission is seeking Township Council endorsement of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.
   The council voted down a resolution endorsing the agreement, which supports the goals of the Kyoto Protocol, at its May 8 meeting. Council members requested more information and a discussion of the issue at a June 5 meeting.
   "This is by no means dead, but I think they need more education," Environmental Commission Chairman Mike Hornsby said.
   Under the agreement, municipalities strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets through actions ranging from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information campaigns.
   Municipalities that have signed onto the agreement would urge the state and federal government to enact policies and programs to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol — 7-percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2012. Finally, they would also urge Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas-reduction legislation, establishing a national emission trading system.
   "There’s been an absence of leadership at the federal level so there is a grassroots effort from towns to pass the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement," Mr. Hornsby said. The goals are twofold: first, make an impact on the environment at the local level, and second, influence federal policy.
   As part of the agreement, West Windsor would conduct an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and set goals for reducing those emissions.
   Earlier this month, Mercer County freeholders passed a resolution supporting the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Fourteen New Jersey municipalities, including Hightstown, Hamilton and Hopewell Borough, have endorsed the agreement. Cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago and New Orleans are also participating.