Donald Trump Does Not Speak for the Cities of America

Seattle City Council Member Mike O’Brien, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Office of Sustainability & the Environment Director Jessica Finn Coven, 6/1/17

Mayor Murray’s Remarks

Pulling out of the historic 195-nation Paris environmental accord does not put America First.

It puts America in bed with big oil. It puts America at odds with science. It puts America in the corner with a dunce cap on its head. It puts us with Syria and Nicaragua as the only two countries in the world that have rejected climate action.

What America is First in … is carbon emissions over the last 150 years.

We cannot abdicate our responsibility to be part of the solution now.

From the heart of the beautiful Pacific Northwest, I have a message for the rest of the world: President Trump does not speak for the cities of this nation.

He says we’re dropping out of the Paris agreement.

Seattle is not dropping out.

I joined with mayors from 60 other cities today to announce we are honoring our commitment to the Paris Accord.

•We are standing by our commitment to be 100 percent renewable by 2050.

Donald Trump says we must cater to the fossil fuel industry.

This City will not cater to big oil:

 •We have converted nearly 700 homes from oil to clean energy since 2012.

•We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in public transit, lowering the rate of people driving to work by nearly 20 percent since 2010.

•We are building 120 new Electric Vehicle charging stations— because we know every gallon of gas replaced by Seattle City Light’s 100 percent carbon neutral electricity equals a 100 percent reduction in carbon.

Donald Trump doesn’t want us to lead.

But Seattle will lead.

•I have signed climate MOUs with three other cities: Mexico City, Shenzhen, China, and Vancouver.

•We will grow green, mandating that our new developments get built in transit rich urban villages.

•We will challenge business as usual. I have called on the City’s pension board to divest.

Sadly, and ultimately, Donald Trump doesn’t want to deal with facts.

But the fact is: Even though the U.S. makes up just 4 percent of the world’s population, we produce nearly a third of the harmful carbon pollution that is accelerating climate change, adding 16.2 metric tons of CO2 per person to the environment, the highest rate in the world.

But here’s another fact: Seattle has emerged as a center of resistance to the Trump agenda.

And will continue by being a leader.

Donald Trump says: “America First.”

We say: Our children’s future first.

We say: Clean air and water first.

We say: Health and safety first.

We say: Environmental stewardship first.

We say: Put the planet first.

Leading on those values is what makes America First. While Trump retreats from that responsibility, we will lead. We have no choice.