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Boston And Other Cities To Work To Curb Renewable Energy Costs

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh speaks on July 11, 2017. (Elise Amendola/AP)
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh speaks on July 11, 2017. (Elise Amendola/AP)

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is hoping to work with other cities to drive down the cost of renewable energy by asking developers for price estimates to meet their collective energy demand.

Walsh said the first cities to join the initiative include Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Orlando and Portland, Oregon.

"Our effort on renewable energy will not only help cities cut carbon emissions and get us closer to the goals of Paris Climate Agreement, it will help power our cities and create more, clean energy jobs," Walsh said in a statement.

Walsh announced the project at the start of an international mayors summit on climate change Thursday in Boston.

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy were scheduled to speak at the event. Both served under President Obama.

About two dozen mayors and city leaders were attending the event, billed as a chance to explore ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the challenges posed by climate change.

In Boston those strategies include creating deployable flood walls to protect waterfront neighborhoods and elevating certain streets and parks to ease flooding concerns, Walsh said.

Another goal is for the city to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Walsh said the proposal to seek lower renewable energy costs is one way to reach that goal. He said he hopes to finalize a list of participating cities later in the summer and then seek estimates from renewable energy companies for ways to meet that combined demand.

The summit comes about a year after President Trump's administration announced plans to pull out of the Kerry-negotiated Paris climate agreement.

Trump defended the move last June when he announced his decision, saying it was in the country's best interests to pull out of the agreement.

With additional reporting by the WBUR Newsroom

This article was originally published on June 07, 2018.

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