HOUSTON, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Climate Mayors, a coalition of mayors across the United States, called for climate action, the Mayor's Office of Houston, Texas, said Wednesday.
According to a press release by the Houston Mayor's Office on Wednesday, Mayor Sylvester Turner, who help to lead the Climate Mayors, said "Our climate has changed. Harvey was historic, and the needed infrastructure improvements are recognized by all levels of government. Houston will rise from this challenge a stronger, more resilient city, but we as a nation need bold action - like the Clean Power Plan - to better prepare our communities and our economy for a changing future."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took a formal step on Tuesday to repeal the Clean Power Plan, the measures put in place by former U.S. President Barack Obama that would limit greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants.
The Climate Mayors issued a statement on Wednesday, stating that the EPA's announcement would undermines U.S. leadership on climate action and threatens Americans' health and safety.
"The Supreme Court has already directed the agency to act on carbon pollution, and we call on President Trump to honor that mandate," it said.
The mayors said in the statement that they know firsthand that the costs of inaction are too great, because their cities are on the front lines of super storms, floods, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, and public health challenges caused by climate change.
"That's why we are committed to bold action to clean our air, strengthen our economy, and ensure a healthier future for our children and grandchildren," the statement said.
Mayor Turner is a co-chair of Climate Mayors, a group of over 300 mayors of cities from coast to coast working together to strengthen local efforts for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to support efforts for binding federal and global-level policymaking.
Houston has reduced municipal greenhouse gas emission by 35 percent since 2007. Today nearly 90 percent of Houston's energy comes from renewable sources - including the recent expansion of the City's solar power purchase agreement - and Houston was named the nation's top municipal purchaser of green energy by the EPA for 2017.
The Clean Power Plan, issued by the Obama administration in 2015, required coal-fired power plants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, but it was put on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court in a five to four decision in February 2016.
In March this year, Trump signed an executive order, directing the EPA to "suspend, revise, or rescind" the Obama-era regulation.
The agency said Tuesday that repealing the plan will "facilitate the development of U.S. energy resources and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens associated with the development of those resources."
