Pro-Microgrid Cities and States Not Happy with Trump’s Move on Paris Climate Agreement

June 7, 2017
Several leading pro-microgrid cities and states are taking a dim view of President Donald Trump’s move last week to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.

Several leading pro-microgrid cities and states are taking a dim view of President Donald Trump’s move last week to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.

Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto was one of the most vocal to condemn the move after Trump used Pittsburgh to justify the withdrawal. Trump specifically said he was acting on behalf of the citizens “of Pittsburgh not Paris.”

Credit: Ron Mader

To the contrary, Peduto says, his city is all in on the international climate agreement.

“I’m appalled that the President used my city to justify his unacceptable decision, as most other Pittsburghers are,” Peduto said in a prepared statement. “I was one of the nation’s mayors who went to Paris to fight for the accords, and my city, which has finally bounced back from decades of industrial carnage, will do all it can to promote its own environmental standards.”

Pittsburgh was recently featured in Microgrid Knowledge for its planned grid of microgrids. The city also is pursuing a range of other green initiatives, including smart building upgrades, renewable energy goals and electric vehicle transportation planning.

Underscoring Pittsburgh’s commitment to the Paris accord, Peduto issued an executive order to further promote the city’s climate control initiatives.

Peduto also is among 246 mayors (as of June 5), who have signed a petition pledging to
“adopt, honor, and uphold the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement.” In addition to Pittsburgh, some of the pro-microgrid cities on the ‘Climate Mayors’ list are Boston, New York, Hoboken, and San Diego.

Several states, many of them leaders in promoting microgrids, also showed support of the Paris agreement by joining the U.S. Climate Alliance.

Formed by the governors of California, New York and Washington, the alliance intends to pick up the mantle of leading on climate change initiatives, where the federal government has pulled back.

As of June 5, the three states were joined by Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii,  Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

The states are pursuing a goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 26-28 percent from 2005 levels and to meet or exceed the targets of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan.

Track news about pro-microgrid cities and states. Follow Microgrid Knowledge on Twitter @MicrogridNews.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Very bad idea, lumping pro-microgrid city of Pittsburgh with old-school energy. ” quote=”Very bad idea, lumping the #microgrid city of Pittsburgh with old-school energy. “]

About the Author

Elisa Wood | Editor-in-Chief

Elisa Wood is an award-winning writer and editor who specializes in the energy industry. She is chief editor and co-founder of Microgrid Knowledge and serves as co-host of the publication’s popular conference series. She also co-founded RealEnergyWriters.com, where she continues to lead a team of energy writers who produce content for energy companies and advocacy organizations.

She has been writing about energy for more than two decades and is published widely. Her work can be found in prominent energy business journals as well as mainstream publications. She has been quoted by NPR, the Wall Street Journal and other notable media outlets.

“For an especially readable voice in the industry, the most consistent interpreter across these years has been the energy journalist Elisa Wood, whose Microgrid Knowledge (and conference) has aggregated more stories better than any other feed of its time,” wrote Malcolm McCullough, in the book, Downtime on the Microgrid, published by MIT Press in 2020.

Twitter: @ElisaWood

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