A little over a year ago, the Idaho Chapter began working on the Ready for 100 campaign in Boise with the aim of getting the city to commit to 100% clean, renewable energy for its electric sector by 2035. Since we started a lot has changed, but one thing remains steadfast- our commitment to a 100% clean energy future for all.
Nationally, the Ready for 100 campaign has seen dozens more cities make the commitment to 100%, now with over 40 U.S. cities striving for a healthier, cleaner and more affordable future. A recent example from the Pacific Northwest is Portland, OR. The city's goal not only defines dates for 100% clean targets for electricity and transportation in the city, it is also informing state energy planning. Their utility included the city goals as part of their 20-year resource planning process.
In addition to 100% commitment by cities, we have seen mayors stepping out to endorse a vision of a clean energy future. This week we passed a huge landmark for the Mayors for Clean Energy work with more than 150 mayors now signed on to endorse a 100% clean energy future for their residents. In Idaho, we have had two mayors step forward- the City of Ketchum and City of Dover.
Sierra Club analysis demonstrates that if all member cities from the U.S. Conference of Mayors commit to and implement 100% clean energy, the United States can achieve anywhere from 87 to 110 percent of our carbon emission reduction goals from the Paris agreement. Aiding in the push for this type of visionary city leadership, in June the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a landmark legislation calling for 100% clean energy from all member cities. This is a huge move by a group of mayors from more than 1,400 cities with populations of 30,000 or more.
When the work began in Boise over a year ago, our conversations with city council members, Mayor Bieter and staff were curious and enthusiastic. The Sierra Club has continued to build relationships with our city leaders and the city has taken significant strides to answer the question: what would a clean energy goal look like in Boise?
This summer, Boise signed a contract to study and create a renewable energy strategy with the goal of finishing up and publicly announcing their plans in early 2018. We are impressed by our leader’s attention to detail and passion for answering the hard questions around clean energy in Boise.
While they are hard at work to find a path forward, the Sierra Club is hitting the streets to build the public will for an ambitious goal. We know that to address climate change and protect our communities, we have to set the vision for a 100% clean energy future.
Over the next several months we will be collecting citizen's petitions, asking the 20 faith leaders that signed on to our letter to engage their communities more deeply, and reaching out to nonprofits and businesses for endorsement. We know 100% represents Boise's values.
Even though we are focused on Boise, our eye is on the future of other Idaho cities as well. We would like to expand this campaign to new cities in the coming year because we believe all of Idaho is #Readyfor100.
