Wellfleet signs on to global covenant on climate (Provincetown Wicked Local 7/18/18)

WELLFLEET — This town has joined thousands of other towns and cities around the world in committing to ambitious climate initiatives through the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. The action came by unanimous vote of the select board at its June 12 meeting.
As research continues to paint a dire picture of humanity’s future under “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emission scenarios, cities and towns of all sizes are taking action, not waiting for change at the federal level.
A recent study titled “The Future We Don’t Want,” produced by the nonprofit C40 Cities, predicts that by 2050, 1.6 billion people will be regularly exposed to extreme high temperatures, over 800 million people will be vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flooding, 650 million people will be at risk of water shortages, and 2.5 billion people will be living in cities where the food supply is threatened by climate change.
Wellfleet is the tenth municipality in Massachusetts to commit to the global covenant and one of 60 communities worldwide to sign on since the start of 2018.
The covenant, formed in 2016, is the broadest climate alliance in the world, representing the commitment of 9,000 cities and local governments from six continents — more than 10 percent of the total global population.
Wellfleet’s commitment was prompted by energy committee member Robert Shapiro, who says he first learned about the covenant while looking for a tool to do a greenhouse gas inventory for the town. (read more)

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