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Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak today announced his 2007 budget proposals for energy and the environment with a series of initiatives to address climate change through city government and community-based efforts that reduce energy consumption and increase the use of renewable energy.

“With less than 5% of the world’s population, the United States produces more than 25% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and those emissions are growing,” Mayor Rybak said. “As our federal leaders fail to address this climate crisis, the courage and leadership to reduce energy use and increase the use of renewable energy should and is emanating from local government.”

The Mayor’s energy and environment-related budget initiatives are part of his proposed 2007 budget for the City of Minneapolis, which he formally submitted to the City Council in August. Primary components of Mayor Rybak’s plan includes efforts to:

Elevate and focus city environmental efforts moving the City’s entire environmental energy team into the city coordinator’s office for a stronger, city-wide scope.
Expand city environmental efforts by hiring more staff, including a city energy manager to audit and direct all city departments on ways to reduce energy consumption and staff to work with citizens on community-wide energy conservation.
Support renewable energy production by building a Midtown biomass energy plant, which would provide as many as 18,000 Minneapolis households with alternative energy.
Install 2,400 LED streetlight signals with 85% less energy consumption and lower maintenance costs.
Model green building design by constructing the state’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) “Gold Certified” building.
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by distributing over 1,000 trees to residents to plant in their yards and boulevards. Over their lifespan, these trees will reduce half a million pounds of greenhouse gases per year – the equivalent of taking 51 cars off the road per year.

In addition to these budget line-items, Mayor Rybak announced that the City of Minneapolis would also strive to inspire citizens into collective action for the environment.

“Inspiration is critically important right now because while city government can provide leadership, we can make monumental progress in improving our environment if we also inspire business and citizens to join our actions, Rybak said. “While we need to inspire in all areas of environmental stewardship, the area that emerges far above all others is our urgent need to address the climate change crisis.”

Chief among the Mayor’s community mobilization efforts will be an energy challenge launched next month with Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and the Center for Energy and Environment to mobilize the citizens of Minneapolis and St. Paul to reduce their energy use with web-based tools and workshops. The City also plans to launch a campaign to encourage residents in Minneapolis to switch at least one light bulb in their home to an energy efficient light bulb, saving money and electricity.

Mayor Rybak released his proposals before a room of environmental leaders and advocacy groups whom he called on to partner with the City on environmental projects. The Mayor’s presentation was co-sponsored by Sierra Club, Fresh Energy, Alliance for Sustainability, Green Institute and Tree Trust.

“Minneapolis is an environmental leader because we have such an overwhelming concentration of active citizens and organizations that make it their mission to protect the land, water and air. There is almost no environmental movement in the country that does not have a strong presence of Minneapolis residents and organizations at the helm,” Rybak said.