City of Cambridge Joins Boston, Copenhagen in Climate Memorandum of Collaboration

On Thursday, September 21, 2017, Cambridge City Manager Louis A. DePasquale signed a Memorandum of Collaboration alongside Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Morten Kabell, Copenhagen’s Mayor of Technical and Environmental Affairs, during a ceremony at Boston’s City Hall. The agreement provides a framework for the three cities to collaborate in efforts to mitigate climate change and build resilient cities. 

“We look forward to collaborating with the City of Boston and the City of Copenhagen to combat climate change,” said DePasquale. “In addition to furthering Cambridge’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century, the exchange of ideas, best practices, and innovative strategies will enable us to promote environmental sustainability on a local and international level.” 

Following the signing ceremony, the collaboration held its inaugural event, with representatives from each city sharing presentations describing their climate mitigation and preparedness planning. Susanne Rasmussen, Director of Environmental & Transportation Planning, discussed Cambridge’s long term strategy to reach carbon neutrality, highlighting the need for bold action to enable the transition of the energy system in only three decades and emphasizing the importance of collaboration among cities as well as with community stakeholders. 

Energy Planner Seth Federspiel described Cambridge’s Net Zero Action Plan, which includes a set of strategies for dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions from building operations, as well as the city’s zero waste plan and efforts to eliminate emissions from the transportation sector. Environmental Planner John Bolduc explained results from Cambridge’s recently completed Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment - including the city’s vulnerabilities to increasing temperatures and precipitation as well as rising sea levels and coastal storm surges - and described how the assessment is informing current efforts to develop a climate change preparedness plan.

“Cambridge has long been at the forefront of addressing climate change, and we look forward to working closely with sustainability pioneers in Boston and Copenhagen as we share our challenges and successes,” said Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development. “We hope that the collaboration’s sustainability initiatives will resonate on local, regional, and international levels.” 

The Memorandum of Collaboration will focus on establishing best practices for improving energy efficiency, promoting low-carbon energy production, encouraging sustainable transportation and other topics through joint events and regular communication between environmental planners in the three cities.

For more information about the City of Cambridge’s climate & energy initiatives, visit http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/climateandenergy.