Manhattan Beach Wins Mayors Conference Climate Protection Award

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The City of Manhattan Beach has won an Honorable Mention in the Small Cities category [cities below 100,000 population] of the 14th Annual Climate Protection Awards for its "Climate Ready Manhattan Beach" program. The award was presented during a Zoom on Friday, Dec. 18.

Sponsored by The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Walmart, the Annual Climate Protection Awards are given to large and small cities that demonstrate how they are dealing with the effects of climate change and the impact mayors are having on protecting the environment for future generations, according to a news release.

Said Richard Montgomery, then mayor of Manhattan Beach when he attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors and urged city staff to submit the Climate Ready Manhattan Beach program, "Cities are on the front lines when it comes to climate change. I'm proud that Manhattan Beach is one of those cities leading the world in reducing carbon emissions through policies and adoption of clean technologies.

"Our city has a strong history of taking climate action and moving toward sustainability and the Council's decision to power the city with 100% renewable energy through Clean Power Alliance has a direct correlation with lowering carbon emissions and building a legacy for future generations," he added.

Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto and West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor won top honors
for 2020.

“Mayors Peduto and Cantor show us how local leadership is delivering cost-effective solutions
to the growing climate challenges before our cities, our nation and the world,” said USCM
President Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “The innovation and creativity of these mayors and
the other award winners will hopefully inspire other mayors, as well as all our federal partners,
to join us in taking climate action.”

“The really exciting part of the Western Pennsylvania Energy Consortium is that it has brought
together a critical mass of energy users to reshape our region’s energy future,” said Pittsburgh
Mayor William Peduto. “This broad partnership saves money for our taxpayers, creates local
clean energy jobs and reduces our carbon use, today and into the future.”

"In West Hartford, we strive to employ forward thinking and best practices to improve the
quality of life for our residents; this includes accelerating the development of locally-based clean, renewable energy,” said West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor. “When we started, ‘Virtual Net Metering’ was a new concept to us, but we learned quickly about its many benefits and we embraced it. We are saving money, cutting carbon emissions, and hopefully providing a ‘best practice’ for others in supporting their local climate action.”

“We commend these mayors and all of the awardees for sustaining their climate efforts and commitments during this most challenging year,” said Amy Hill, senior director for Walmart. “Amidst this pandemic and all of its disruption and varied impacts, the successful efforts of these mayors are even more impressive given the many challenges before their cities, including climate protection.”

“Mayors have a record of success in taking climate action at the local level and have urged greater federal engagement and commitments on climate protection to bolster and expand upon what mayors are already doing,” said Tom Cochran, USCM CEO and executive director.

LARGE CITY HONORABLE MENTIONS [populations over 100,000]:

• Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley – Cincinnati Clean Energy Program
• Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin - Energy Justice
• Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego – Green and Sustainability Bond Program
• Rochester (MN) Mayor Kim Norton – Vision for Rochester
• Tucson Mayor Regina Romero – Santa Cruz River Heritage Project

SMALL CITY HONORABLE MENTIONS [populations 100,000 or less]:

• Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan – Street Light Replacement Program
• Framingham Mayor YvonneSpicer – Efficient Framingham
• Manhattan Beach Mayor Richard Montgomery – Climate Ready Manhattan Beach
• San Leandro Mayor Pauline Cutter -- Solar and Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Operations
• San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon – Clean Energy Choice Program for New Builidngs