Already this week two more cities have made substantial commitments to renewable energy. On Sunday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the city’s public buildings, including at city schools, colleges parks and public housing, will get 100% of their electricity from renewable energy by 2025.
Not to be outdone, a day later the Mayor of Portland, Oregon and the Chair of Multnomah County, where Portland is located, committed to a plan for the city and the county to get 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2035, and 100% of all energy from renewables by 2050.
These announcements follow in the wake of significant momentum for 100% renewable energy campaigns both nationally and internationally. In March AB InBev, the world’s largest beer company, announced that it would source 100% of the electricity it purchases from renewable energy sources by 2025. Also last month the city of Madison, Wisconsin committed to move to 100% renewable energy.
In the case of Chicago and Portland, these pledges were accompanied by condemnations of the recent actions of the Trump Administration. “As the Trump administration pulls back on building a clean energy economy, Chicago is doubling down,” stated Chicago Mayor Emanuel.
Mayor Wheeler also condemned the Trump Administration’s move to dismantle the Clean Power Plan in late March, as part of a joint statement by the governors of Washington, Oregon and California, and the mayors of five of the largest cities on the West Coast including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
“Newly confirmed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and President Trump may make the misguided decision to try to destroy the Clean Power Plan,” stated Wheeler. “Our city and region will stay the course and move beyond coal and other fossil fuels.”
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