Frank Torres
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, joined by mayors from major cities worldwide were in Washington Thursday morning to meet with Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Envoy Michael Bloomberg. The discussion was on best practices and possible solutions for addressing the challenge of climate change.
The work session, part of the “Our Cities, Our Climate” initiative, was through a partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the U.S. State Department.
In Florida, there are growing concerns from both residents and civic leaders over the possibility of increased flooding due to climate change.
“Cities are on the front line of a storm that is coming right at us,” Kerry told reporters after the workshop. “In today’s world, climate change is economic policy and it presents us with an extraordinary market to grow jobs and embrace the challenge while solving the problem and doing good”
Orlando has been doing it’s part as the “greenest” city in the Southeast by implementing measures such as vehicles that run on compressed natural gas, residential composting programs, and LEED certification for government buildings.
“It was a great honor to be a part of this exchange with other city officials from across the globe. As a recognized leader in the U.S. in sustainability” Dyer said. “I was able to share Orlando’s best practices with the hope that this multiplies our impact around the world.”
