Nashville Mayor Announces Climate Initiatives, but Activists Are Unimpressed

Mayor John Cooper on Thursday announced a series of actions aimed at reducing the city’s greenhouse-gas emissions and addressing global climate change, at least insofar as a single city can.

Cooper said he has joined the Global Covenant of Mayors with plans to participate in the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a coalition of nearly 100 cities around the world seeking to tackle the issue.

The mayor said he will include funding for a solar-power array on the roof of the Metro Courthouse in the next capital improvements budget, create an energy-savings program to fund efficiency efforts in government facilities, establish a sustainability advisory board and back new Metro Council legislation strengthening tree protections. He also celebrated energy efficiency certifications for new Metro buildings.

“As we enjoy the holiday season, it is perhaps likely we will not see a proverbial white Christmas this year,” Cooper said. “But we can certainly work to have a green one. To ensure that our environment is as safeguarded as our pocketbooks, I am proud to announce these initial sustainability projects and policies with the guarantee that more are forthcoming, for the sake of our children and all future Nashvillians.”

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