Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A mayoral debate Monday morning pitted coal- and natural gas-producing cities and towns against everyone else on curbing harmful carbon emissions.

Mayors at the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting at the Rhode Island Convention Center debated and voted on a series of resolutions on Monday morning that will become the official policy of the conference, which is the largest nonpartisan group of American mayors.

Mayors from the mountain west and Appalachian cities, in particular, voiced their opposition to resolutions in support of President Obama's controversial proposal to cap greenhouse gas emissions and force polluters who go beyond federally-designated pollution levels to purchase "credits."

Those credits, as proposed, would fund programs for energy efficiency through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.

"It is very easy for some mayors to support this because they get additional revenue while it is other communities that will have to pay a higher rate on utilities. This proposal pits region against region," said Colorado Springs (Colo.) Mayor Lionel Rivera.

"As it's proposed, revenue from cap and trade does not go into investing into new technology that can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. We coal-producing and natural gas-producing communities just pay a penalty while others benefit," Rivera said.

Santa Ana (Calif.) Mayor Miguel Pulido and other mayors argued that a national response to climate change was long overdue, even if it potentially harms other communities in the short term. "There is a real need in this country to move away from coal. We need to take a lead on this issue," he said.

Read the latest news about the conference.

 Tags  cicilline mayors obama Providence RI U.S. Conference of Mayors

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