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Former Colorado governor Bill Ritter tells All-America City jurors cities deliver on climate action
Summary
Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter told the All-America City audience that local governments are where climate and community resilience efforts succeed, citing reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions by several finalist cities and urging continued local leadership.
Bill Ritter, former governor of Colorado and founder of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University, addressed the All-America City finalists in Denver and emphasized the role of cities and local governments in climate action and resilience.
“Cities have always come through. And this is where the work gets done, is at the local level,” Ritter said, citing examples of finalists that reported significant greenhouse-gas reductions. He noted the variability of national leadership on climate policy and argued that subnational governments and local leaders continue implementing solutions that translate into measurable emissions reductions and community benefits.
Ritter described work with coal-dependent communities on economic diversification and resiliency, framing climate resilience, economic diversification and community resiliency as interconnected. He encouraged finalists to continue building from the ground up and commended local successes displayed during the finalist presentations.
His remarks tied to the event’s theme of showcasing municipal problem-solving across public health, safety and environmental domains and set the conference tone for panels on trust, democracy and climate-focused local policy.
