Mayors Sign Pact To Set Goals For Emissions-Free Ports Of Los Angeles, Long Beach
SAN PEDRO (CBSLA.com) — The mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach Monday signed a pact that sets clean-air goals for their ports, reaffirming their commitment to adopting the Paris Agreement.
Both cities agreed to update their ports' Clean Air Action Plan to include new investments in clean-air technology, a transition to zero emissions with cargo handling equipment by 2030, reducing emissions from ships using the ports and using 100 percent zero-emissions trucks by 2035.
"Washington may not care about clean air or think that environmental justice for people who live near ports is anything to be concerned about. But you can be damn sure that we do," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a news conference at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. "These are our communities. We're not letting anyone move us backward. We're going to fight for our air. We're going to fight for our families. And we're going to fight for our jobs."
"With the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach ranked as the nation's two largest ports, it is crucial to double down on our commitment to combating climate change by achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and by committing to zero emissions goals for the Clean Air Action Plan," Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said.
"We will not go backwards in this country and in the region. We will push back every single step of the way to ensure that we meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and that Los Angeles and Long Beach continue to lead when it comes to clean air and environmental protection," he said.
Garcetti and Garcia are members of the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda, or Climate Mayors, a group co-founded by Garcetti in 2014. Membership in the group has skyrocketed from 88 to 292 since President Donald Trump vowed to pull America out of the Paris Agreement earlier this month.
The agreement sets environmental goals by the 195 signatory countries. Since Trump's announcement, at least 279 of the Climate Mayors have vowed to uphold the agreement.
"Our ports are the engines that power our econom. They must also be the forces that drive our region toward a greener, more sustainable future," Garcetti said. "I am proud to stand with my fellow Climate Mayor Robert Garcia today as we renew our commitment to cleaning our air and moving boldly toward our goal of zero emissions goods movement at the ports."
According to Garcetti's office, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will release a detailed timeline and process for CAAP within 15 days.
Garcetti and Garcia also unveiled the Green Ports Collaborative, an initiative led by the Climate Mayors to encourage cities and ports along West Coast and around America to create shared environmental standards.
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