PRESS RELEASE Contact: Laurie Litman, llitman@pacbell.net, 916-284-1627
What: Community Forum: Leading the Way to Carbon Zero
When: Saturday, May 13, 9:00am–3:00pm
Where: McGeorge School of Law, Lecture Hall, 3200 5th Ave, Sacramento
Who: Public, students, professionals, decisionmakers; all are welcome
Cost: $25 general; $10 students and limited income (includes lunch). No one turned away for lack of funds
Information and registration: 350sacramento.org/communityforum
Highlights:
- Opening by Sacramento’s Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
- Keynote by renowned visionary Alex Steffen, author of Carbon Zero: Imagining Cities That Can Save the Planet.
- Presentations and discussions to explore realistic paths to carbon zero.
- Interactive focus groups to discuss where we go from here.
- Exhibits by businesses doing the hard work to transition away from fossil fuels.
- A delicious lunch provided by the Sacramento Natural Foods Coop.
Imagining Cities that Can Save the Planet
350 Sacramento is excited to announce a Community Forum, “Leading the Way to Carbon Zero,” which will explore paths to achieving carbon zero in the Sacramento region. The keynote speaker will be Alex Steffen, author of Carbon Zero: Imagining Cities that Can Save the Planet.
Climate change is upon us, with increasing risks to our health, economy, environment, and future. The federal government may be cutting funding for the climate, but cities are now stepping up to take the lead with bold action to address climate change. We can all be part of solution to the biggest challenge of our lifetime.
How Low Can We Go?
Carbon zero is a clear and obvious goal. It is a commitment to reduce emissions low enough that any remaining emissions can be absorbed by nature. While challenging, this goal is achievable. Cities, states, and countries around the world have already made this commitment and are working to implement the goal. The path to carbon zero also provides many additional benefits, including jobs, improved economy, better health, a more walkable and livable cities, climate resilience, and other quality-of-life improvements. In addition, by making these changes now, we can save untold billions of dollars that will be the cost of inaction on climate change.
We are already seeing more drought, flooding, heat waves, wildfires, melting glaciers, sea level rise, and species extinctions with approximately 1ºC of warming. It has become clear that slow, incremental climate actions are not enough; we need aggressive goals that are commensurate with the extent of the threat. Efforts to achieve carbon zero will help create a livable future.
The Details
Leading the Way to Carbon Zero will take place on Saturday, May 13, from 9 am–3 pm at the beautiful McGeorge School of Law Lecture Hall, 3200 5th Ave, Sacramento. There will be speakers, a panel, discussions, focus groups, an expo, and other features.
This event will bring together a broad spectrum of interests and expertise in the Sacramento region to help kickstart the effort to get to zero. We will explore what carbon zero means, realistic pathways to reach that goal, and first steps in the process to make the Sacramento region a leader in achieving carbon zero.
We ask participants to register in advance to receive important information prior to the event at 350sacramento.org/communityforum.
This Community Forum is organized by 350 Sacramento with special thanks to SMUD, a major sponsor.
