Mayor Turner: That was in Decem-
ber 2017. Our largest delegation to
date, it was about 74 delegates.
HeidiPP: What are your plans for
2019?
Mayor Turner: In terms of 2019, we
are starting to put together that itin-
erary now. There could be a South
Korean trip in there. They are work-
ing to get a trip to Europe. I try to do
only three a year.
HeidiPP: You are a part of the Glob-
al Covenant for Mayors for Climate
and Energy and the head of the en-
ergy capital of the world. What is
your vision for Houston’s future in
the Global Energy industry?
Mayor Turner: I co-chair the United
States Congress on Climate Change.
You know we have 500-year weather
records broken world wide. That is
related to climate change. You know
about the Paris Accord? Over 400
United States mayors signed on that,
we will adhere to the Paris Accord
when it comes to climate change,
Houston being one of them. We are
the energy capital of the world, but
for us too, our focus is on renew-
ables. The City of Houston purchases
more green power than any other
city in the U.S. We are about 82%
wind power and 12% solar. That is
92% renewable energy for the City
of Houston.
HeidiPP: I did not know those de-
tails, thank you. I am proud of our
city’s diversity and vision.
there are areas like Sunnyside. There
are 300 acres of contaminated prop-
erty. We are looking at how we can
take and turn that around to make
it useful soil. Then we can revitalize
that whole community. So, let’s look
and see how we take those 300 acres
and turn them into a solar farm. All
of this works hand in hand with the
United States Conference of May-
ors. I work very closely with Eric
Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, who
is a leader in climate change.
Mayor Turner: We are the energy
capital of the world — but at the same
time, we recognize the importance of
green energy. We are doing that by
leading and by being an example.
Then the focus is on electric vehicles. HeidiPP: That is exciting to know
The announcement is coming soon that even though the Federal Gov-
about electric charge stations. Then ernment has decided not to pay at-
tention, there are so many mayors
working together on the issue.
Mayor Turner: This is a period of
time when the leadership does not
necessarily come from the top down.
It comes from the bottom up. Cities
are playing a much greater role when
it comes to climate change, when
it comes to energy, consumption
of energy, preserving our quality of
life, transportation issues, etc. Cities
are really stepping up. We work very
closely with one another. One thing
about mayors is we have to be results
oriented. We have to learn to work
with all different groups, personali-
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