May 3, 2007 - Boulder's Climate Action Plan aligns with international panel

Contact(s):
Beth Powell, Environmental Affairs, (303) 441-1846
Jodie Carroll, Media Relations, (303) 441-3155
www.bouldercolorado.gov/

The City of Boulder's Climate Action Plan (CAP) strategies to tackle climate change at the local level align with an international panel's policy recommendations to government bodies worldwide. Boulder's Climate Action Plan tax, passed in 2006 and designed to fund energy efficiency programs, is the nation's only voter-approved energy, or carbon tax.  

This Friday, May 4, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will approve its third report, entitled "Climate Change 2007:  Mitigation of Climate Change."  Two previous reports issued February and April 2007 documented the scientific consensus that climate change is caused in large part by human activity, as well as the potential and likely impacts and specific vulnerabilities and challenges that local, regional, and international communities face in coming decades.

The latest report states that the world must embrace existing and developing technologies and strategies in a race against time to minimize the impact of increasing temperature change already in motion.  The drafts also underscore the urgent need for climate action policies at the local, state, and federal level in the United States.  At issue is how much governments and business are willing to commit to new policies and monetary investments to mitigate potentially much larger costs resulting from the potentially devastating environmental impacts of climate change.

"This third IPCC report reaffirms that the strategies being implemented by the City of Boulder are those that scientists conclude are critical to climate change mitigation, both locally and internationally," said Beth Powell, marketing and communications coordinator in the city's Office of Environmental Affairs.  "This includes commitments to energy efficiency by residents and businesses, increased use of renewable energy and biofuels, and eco-friendly transportation options.  It comes down to the costs of action versus inaction, and the IPCC report confirms that governments, businesses and individuals all need to be pulling in the same direction."

Boulder's CAP tax took effect on April 1, and is anticipated to generate approximately $860,000 in funding this year, with a proposed annual budget of about $1 million per year between 2008 and 2013.  The CAP marketing campaign will be rolled out in summer 2007 with a launch event, neighborhood and business contests, creative outreach tactics, individual tracking tools on a campaign Web site, and other methods grounded in an overarching theme intended to inspire individual and collective action in the community. 

Specifically, the CAP programs provide energy efficiency strategies to residents, businesses and the building sector, offering energy audits, information on financial incentives, free trainings and workshops, among other services.  CAP programs also begin this year to address solutions for the transportation sector, as vehicle emissions total about 28 percent of Boulder's total greenhouse gas inventory.

"The latest IPCC report once again reveals that mankind must act now if we hold out any hope of heading off major global temperature increases in the coming decades," said Boulder Mayor Mark Ruzzin. "Boulder's commitment to its Climate Action Plan shows our community's intention to do its part, and demonstrates that local level action can be part of the solution."

For more information about Boulder's Climate Action Plan programs, contact Beth Powell at (303) 441-1846 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  For more information about the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), go to www.ipcc.ch/.

--CITY--