Chicago unveiled an ambitious climate-change plan on Thursday aimed at cutting its greenhouse-gas emissions 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 as part of its commitment to meeting the goals of the Kyoto Protocol. Along with over 700 other cities and municipalities in the U.S., Chicago signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, committing it to reducing its climate impact. Chicago’s plan includes updating the city’s energy codes to mandate more efficient energy use, promoting alternative fuels, adding more green roofs to the city’s skyline, upping recycling, educating citizens to conserve energy, and more. The Windy City also apparently struck a deal with two nearby coal-fired power plants to reduce their emissions or close down by 2017. “We can’t solve the world’s climate-change problem in Chicago, but we can do our part,” said Mayor Richard Daley. In addition, officials commissioned a study to forecast what a climate-changed Chicago might look like. By 2100, it predicts, Chicago is likely to see stretches of severe drought, as well as more frequent heavy rains and floods, and up to 30 more days of 100-degree heat in the summer.
