Seattle puts the brakes on Arctic drilling moorage plan, while a major business coalition joins call for climate action
Opposition to Fossil Fuels and Opportunity for Clean Energy Economy Theme at 7th Annual Breakfast
There were two major announcements this morning at the 7th annual Climate Solutions breakfast at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle. First, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced the news that the City’s Dept. of Planning and Development found that the Port of Seattle’s current permit for Terminal 5 does not allow for moorage and maintenance of off-shore drilling rig. Second, the keynote speaker, Mindy Lubber, President of Ceres, announced that a coalition of major businesses are formally supporting the Washington and Oregon efforts for climate action -- the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy and Renew Oregon.
At the Climate Solutions event, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced the news that the City’s Dept. of Planning and Development found that the Port of Seattle’s current permit for Terminal 5 does not allow for moorage and maintenance of Shell Oil’s off-shore drilling rig.
“We need not continue with the past. It’s time to turn the page. Things like oil trains, coal trains and oil drilling rigs are the past,” stated Mayor Murray. “If it was up to me, there would be no place for Arctic offshore oil drilling equipment in Seattle.” (full statement from the Mayor’s office in response to DPD announcement).
Later in the program, Mindy Lubber, President of Ceres, announced that the members of Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) officially endorsed both Washington’s Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy and Renew Oregon coalitions.
A project of Ceres, BICEP is an advocacy coalition of dozens of large businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation that will help the nation rapidly transition to a low carbon, 21st century economy. A full list of BICEP members can be found here. The Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy is Washington State’s coalition of individuals, organizations, and businesses dedicated to reducing global warming pollution and strengthening the economy. Renew Oregon is a growing coalition of businesses, non-profits, faith and community organizations, and individual Oregonians working to make Oregon a leader in the fight against climate change to promote a cleaner, more prosperous state.
Climate Solutions is a founding partner of both broad and diverse coalitions in Washington and Oregon. The need for broad and diverse coalition-building to tackle climate action was also an emphasis during the program. Approximately 800 business leaders, climate and clean energy partners, elected officials and donors attended the event.
“Success in these endeavors will require a unity of diverse voices like we’ve never seen before. Perhaps the most important development on this front is the recent creation in Washington of the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy, and a sister organization to the south called Renew Oregon, said Gregg Small, Executive Director for Climate Solutions. “Every time we say no here, it bolsters the chances that someone else’s no will prevail in their community. It’s our moment to turn the enormous opposition to fossil fuels in our own backyard into an opportunity to build the kind of communities and the kind of region that we all want to live in,” concluded Small.
