Following nearly two and a half hours of discussion during the Tuesday, March 10 Sedona City Council meeting, the council decided that no vote be taken in regard to the city joining the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. 

“Since no motion was made to adopt the Global Covenant of Mayors, it essentially dies,” City Manager Justin Clifton said the day after the meeting. “Since council did not give direction to staff to conduct any additional research or to bring the item back at a future meeting, no additional staff time will be directed to this item. It will not return to council for further consideration unless two councilors sponsor the item some time in the future.” 

Mayor Sandy Moriarty and Councilwoman Jessica Williamson requested that council consider joining the covenant. While their fellow council members agreed that this is a very important topic, not everyone agreed that joining was a good idea. 

Based on the comments and opin­ions of council, had there been a vote the item would have been defeated 4-3 with Vice Mayor John Martinez, Councilwoman Janice Hudson, and Councilmen John Currivan and Scott Jablow opposed. 

Their reasons included questioning the need to join when the city was already moving forward in many ways on sustainability and the envi­ronment; the need for more diverse information; the potential cost involved with joining; and wondering if the city would be able to meet the requirements in the designated timeframe. 

“Once we sign onto it, we’re pretty much binding ourselves — morally at least — to do what we’re going to say we’ll do,” Currivan said. “And if we don’t, the punishment is the walk of shame. That is, we’ll be out of this compact and it will be made known to the public and Sedona will be placed in a bad light.” 

As to why she co-sponsored this agenda item, Williamson said, “I think it’s important that we step up and say we’re joining the rest of the world in saying this is an issue that we take seriously and one we intend to deal with and not put aside. And I think that’s what leaders do. I’m not sure working under the radar is always the best way to provide leadership.” 

A city report from Sustainability Coordinator McKenzie Jones states, “Our climate is changing. Temperatures are increasing glob­ally and locally in Northern Arizona. Addressing the climate crisis is an urgent issue for cities. An analysis by the Climate Assessment for the Southwest indicates warming temperatures, poorer air quality, changing precipitation patterns, and increased flood and wildfire risk are local examples of the impacts Northern Arizona is facing as a result of climate change. 

“Unexpected expenditures from drought, wildfire, flooding and extreme heat can cause major disrup­tions in city budgets and operations. Climate change is a threat to commu­nity wellbeing and fiscal health.” 

Within three years of this commit­ment, a city pledges to develop, adopt, use and regularly report on the following: 

• A community-scale greenhouse gas emission inventory, following the recommended guidance. 
• An assessment of climate risks and vulnerabilities. 
• Ambitious, measurable and time-bound targets to reduce/avoid greenhouse gas emissions. 
• Ambitious climate change adaptation vision and goal, based on quantified scientific evidence when possible, to increase local resilience to climate change. 
• An ambitious and just goal to improve access to secure, sustainable and affordable energy. 
• A formally adopted plan addressing climate change mitiga­tion/low emission development, climate resilience and adaptation and access to sustainable energy. 

In addition, in order to become a signatory city, cities must develop citywide knowledge, goals and plans that aim at least as high as national climate protection commit­ments or the Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement. 

Within the state, Phoenix, Tempe and Flagstaff have become members of GCOM. And, by joining, it provides a city the opportunity to work with and get guidance from cities around the globe working to become more sustainable, the report states. 

Of the 17 people who spoke during public comments, the majority were in favor of the city joining the covenant, including Jon Thompson, a former city councilman. 

“I’m not afraid of a walk of shame,” he said. “But what I will do is take pride in a walk of commit­ment. There will be unintended consequences but the climate crisis that we’re dealing with is a good example of an unintended conse­quence and we’re here to clean it up.” 

Dale Casey felt differently. 

“I think the city could spend the $2 million it’s spending to bring in more tourists and use it for some of the ideas that have been presented,” he said. “The covenant is not neces­sary at all. We can do it on our own.”