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Indianapolis Pledges to Uphold Paris Climate Goals

With the U.S. no longer is part of the Paris climate accords, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett believes it is time for cities to take the matter of reducing carbon emissions into their own hands.

With the U.S. no longer is part of the Paris climate accords, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett believes it is time for cities to take the matter of reducing carbon emissions into their own hands.

At the state's second annual Climate Leadership Summit, Hogsett announced this week that the city is committed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 — keeping Indianapolis in line with the Paris agreement that President Donald Trump withdrew from earlier this year.  

"The climate is changing," Hogsett said at the summit, "its consequences, very real. 

"If the tragedies of the last several weeks have taught us anything, it is this: How well cities are prepared will determine their success over the years and decades to come," he added. "Indianapolis will be prepared." 

With this commitment, Indy joins the ranks of many other cities around the country and world — including Seattle, New York, Minneapolis, London, Berlin and Sydney — who are working to reduce or eliminate their carbon footprint. That footprint is a measure of how day-to-day activities that produce greenhouse gases — such as burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat and transportation — affect the environment and climate.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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