On Monday, Atlanta lawmakers voted unanimously to power the city entirely with clean energy sources by 2035.
Atlanta is the 27th city to make the pledge, according to the Sierra Club. These kinds of municipal promises have been popping up nationwide over the past few months. Here’s a recap:
- Portland, Oregon, pledged in April to go 100 percent renewable by 2050. The surrounding Multnomah County got in on the plan, too.
- South Lake Tahoe, California, committed to go renewable by 2032. Its initiative is, at least to begin, entirely volunteer-driven.
- It’s not just the coasts: In March, Madison, Wisconsin became the biggest city in the Midwest to pledge to a community-wide switch to 100 percent renewable energy (though it hasn’t set a target date).
- The tiny town of Abita Springs, Louisiana committed in March to transition to clean energy by 2030 — and its Republican mayor went to bat for it. That’s a big win in our books.
- On top of these, Chicago made some climate-friendly promises last month.
“We know that moving to clean energy will create good jobs, clean up our air and water, and lower our residents’ utility bills,” said Kwanza Hall, an Atlanta City Council member and mayoral candidate, in a statement. “We have to set an ambitious goal or we’re never going to get there.”
A round of applause for local climate progress!
