the morning you're going to be project solving and seeing the project go to me that's fun, i like coming to >> it is a great day in the bayview today. the sun is shining. here, on third street attacking the bayview to celebrate the opening of an extraordinary business and an extraordinary san franciscan eric my name is joaquin torres. i'm the director of the economic workforce development and a proud partner in this community. and very much i am looking forward to cutting the ribbon today with all of you and to have a moment to introduce our esteemed mayor breed and supervisor cohen. i want to recognize folks who are here today. i want to thank the bayview merchants association, the african-american chamber of

commerce, the young community developers, our southeast community facility commissioners , diane gray and lavonne kang. i want to thank d.j. for being here. thank you for being here from down the block. [laughter] >> we have coffee out there for you. renaissance, and economic development on third. and our partners at bay area, local initiatives support corporation, bay area list. with that, we will kick it off with our mayor, london breed. [applause] >> mayor breed: thank you everyone for being here today. it is a beautiful day in the bayview and it is a beautiful day to cut the ribbon on this incredible business. i'm sure some of you from back in the day remember the monte carlo. [laughter] >> mayor breed: some frequent visitors of the monte carlo and i know the former owner of the monte carlo, teresa, has joined

us here today. i'm grateful she is here to support what we know is going to be a new and incredible addition to the bayview hunter's point community. that is café envy. [applause] >> mayor breed: the owner as café envy track shaft april spears, a.k.a. auntie april, is here with her mom today. she is born and raised in the hunter process point community." for ten years ago she opened one of our favourite restaurants in this community. auntie april's has stuck with this community time and time again. instead of using her incredible talents which he learned from her grandmother's kitchen to open a restaurant and other cities and other places in our city, she chose to stick with her community. she chose to invest in the bayview hunter process point community because she truly believes in this community and

what we need to do to make sure that people who are part of this community actually have a stake in keeping it the way that it needs to be for the residents of this community. the san francisco -- unfortunately it has suffered a decline in our african-american population. we know that that continues to be a challenge. that is why we are so grateful to april for choosing this community to invest in. for choosing to invest in her home. so i don't know about you, but some of you might be familiar with her fried chicken at auntie april his. you may want to get familiar. supervisor cohen and i have had more than our fair share. we continue to support her business and continue to make sure that she is growing and thriving. this second investment in this corridor is proof that she is going to continue to grow and thrive and be an important part

of the small business community here in the bayview hunter's point. and part of what made this possible are a number of important things, including open and -- opening s.f. it helps small businesses navigate the crazy and bureaucratic process that exists in city hall. many of you know about that when it comes to small businesses, when it comes to housing, when it comes to a number of things in order to get something as simple and incredible as this business open, the city sometimes can be an obstacle. so open s.f. played an important role to navigate the system. the other program that is incredibly important in making sure that this business grows and thrives is the ability to get a liquor license at an affordable price. three state legislation clock we were able to make this possible and make it more affordable

because most of you no kak that there is a limit to liquor licenses in san francisco. they can range in the market anywhere from $250,000 and because of our program and because of our ability and our desire to invest in communities like the bayview hunter's point, the liquor license for this establishment was about $15,000. huge. [applause] this is the first new liquor license in san francisco in more than 80 years. that is incredible. [applause] >> mayor breed: the other program that has helped in this business is s.f. giants which is a grants that provided assistance with façade improvements. ultimately, we want this business to be a success and provide investments like this provides the opportunity for these businesses to grow and thrive. again, it takes incredible will. it takes a lot of patience.

simon siren -- simon siren -- >> mayor breed: it takes good views -- good food. april spears has stepped up to the plate to be this incredible anchor tenant in the bayview hunter's point community and we must support her. thank you april for this incredible step and thank you so much to all of you for being here. i want to make sure, especially, if it is your first time here at café envy, it will not be your last, let support the small business and let's make sure that it continues to be here for generations to come. thank you all so much for being here today. [applause] >> thank you mayor breed. i want to recognize the captain for joining us today. i want to shout out some of the businesses in the house. luxurious males, -- luxurious males -- males -- nails.

>> i hope we are showing you we are doing this today. mayor breed and supervisor cohen , with no further ado, supervisor cohen. >> good morning, community. i was listening to the mayor's remarks and i was reminded and i want to call this out. what you have here are the public of the public school system. i went to middle school with april. [siren wails] >> she is a graduate of galileo high school. [laughter] >> of galileo high school. i went to lolo and i want to recognize meghan mitchell who is also a graduate from the san francisco unified school district. today is really significant. what you have is folks who grew up in the community --

communities were standing together and organizing themselves in opening businesses i want to pay homage and pay a tremendous amount of respect to the folks who went before us. they really laid down the rules, as well as a foundation that allows us to stand here today. ms. miss vincent is a regret representative of an entire generation that is transitioning but has passed on very important key community organizing principles, but most importantly , the important knowledge of self determination and collective economic growth. when i think of economic growth, i also think about earl shattuck they started an organization, the economic development of third street. at the third street corridor. the mayor's remarks, sheet talk about how people fight and choose to be here in the corridor and that is asked -- absolutely the case. times have changed when people are fearful and they don't want to locate into the bayview. most of the businesses that were

recognized by joaquin torres our new businesses. we have laughing bunk, we have anderson's business -- word caée there is a lot of momentum that is happening. so i was one of the people that turned 21 and thought this is one of the first bars and clubs that i went to. [laughter] >> i followed the rules. i did not use my fake i.d. they were -- they would put something in the lane here and it was fun. that liveliness and the vibrancy that the bayview was known to have is coming back. it is coming back. i'm excited. it is a new crop of leaders and businesses that are committed. not only are they committed to their own respective businesses but they are committed to the entire community. they are hiring from the community, they are sharing the

resources and the money that is generated and staying and capturing in the community. that is critical as we continue to uplift ourselves and move forward. keeping in mind that we leave no one behind. from my perspective as representing district ten for the last eight years, this is a long time coming. it is an exciting celebration. a lot of the hard work and dedication that we put in, hours of community meetings, right? hours of community meetings, four, five, six years ago are finally bearing fruit. finally bearing tacos and bearing fried chicken. finally bearing whiskey finally bearing wine and grappa. there are many things that are bearing fruit along this corridor and i'm excited and delighted to be here to see this transformation and rebirth. congratulations to all of them. thank you very much. [applause]

>> thank you very much supervisor cohen. as mayor breed and supervisor cohen said, it would not be possible unless you had someone who was willing to make the investments initially in the community and serving the great food, but beyond being an extraordinary entrepreneur, being a great mentor to those who have gone through the women 's program make sure -- making sure folks know it is possible to find opportunity in the city with determination and creativity and extraordinary food. with that, chef spears, thank you so much and we love to hear a few words from you. [applause] [cheering] >> i was looking for my notes but no one wrote notes for me. [laughter] now that all the food is cooked on the doors open, i think i don't know i have to speak now. i just want to say that i am so grateful for this opportunity. being born and raised in the city of san francisco, my parents first home was here in bayview on bridgeview. i learned how to ride my bike up

and down third street, at least when it was much safer to ride your bike on third street. we have a lot of obstacles now. cars and trains. it has been a long time coming. it has been a journey. i've been in business for 12 years now. and i am just excited to be able to bring this new business to the community and to really make sure that we are preserving the legacy of african-american business. it is really important to me in the community. moving forward, and anything that i do, i have decided to bring along a community partner because i would like to reach back and pull community with me in everything that i do to make sure that we are all successful. meghan mitchell, who is here to my left, is kathy -- café envy's community partner. she is so wonderful and we'll try and bring as much livelihood

and great things to this corridor. we are excited to be part of a merchant separate your belchertown, a.k.a., the mob. [laughter] >> which was started by a group of great women here in bayview. we have barbara grappa from greta lyons and we have her partner, kathy hanson. we have missed bernadette from the jazz room is a big part of our movement. we have -- i see andrew out there from laughing bunk. we have josh out there somewhere from bayview pasta. earl shattuck as part of merchants about your town and our executive for e. dot. that is economic development on third street. our goal is to enhance and bring business to the corridor door. i see michael hammond out there as well. my mom to the right.

please forgive me if i forget people. i get a little nervous with all these cameras. my mom is here. here to support me in everything that i do. [applause] >> she has always been here. my aunt brenda smith spears. she has always been a great supporter of me and she is here today to support --dash i see bernie mac out there. she raised her hand like don't forget me, girl. we have miss bernie out there. i see my homeboy out there. i see video out there, deal ellington of district ten, running for supervisor. i see you out there. i am glad to see you here as well. a lot of people out there. please forgive me. marcus, i see you out there from renaissance. such great people. i see my home by dutch homeboy for giving me the eye. i see richard washington of luxurious nails.

please make sure you support your black owned nail salon here and i see mother vincent. she is my angel and i love her. she has been by my side through a lot of things. i'm glad she is here to share the stay with me. gary and teresa, the owners of the previous monte carlo are here to support as well. i see you all out there. thank you so much for being here i am just really excited and hopefully that everyone comes out and supports businesses on the corridor are. we have a lot of great things going on in bayview. we sometimes get a bad rap out here for all the negativity, but there is so much positive things going on here in bayview. so many positive people. we want to highlight those positives and those businesses and community members. please support us here in bayview. we are here to serve you and hopefully you can all come down and have a great meal and a drink on us here, while not honest, but with us. [laughter]

>> with us. with us. thank you so much. then, ben who walked me through -- i lost some sound, ben who helped facilitate and get everything going with the 87 liquor licenses. without you, i would not have got through that process. it wasn't that hard but you made it so easy for me. i really appreciate all the work that you did. walking, thank you so much for always being here and rolling with us in the bayview. and our corridor manager. mr larry who is on the pavement every day. he works hard every day with us and we are also, you know, we have a great movement going on. larry is a big part of that. we hope that we will be able to succeed in that -- thank you.

supervisor cohen, i appreciate you for being here and supporting the businesses, as always. mayor breed, i love you and i'm glad that you are able to take out a bit of your time from your busy schedule to be here. i really appreciate you coming to support. thank you guys talk so much. come on in and a few seconds, i guess. back to you cleat back to walking. thank you guys, so much. [cheers and applause] >> i want to give a shout out -- i think everyone can see one singular small business, please come on in. do it. >> auntie jackie. i love you. she is way in memphis and she is a person who helped me put my business plan together to make sure we were able to secure this business. i love you, if i did not remember to say that i would be in so much trouble. there would be no more at me and there'd be no more business if i forgot. i love you and thank you so much for everything. [applause] >> thank you auntie april and

thank you chef spares. as everyone can tell, driving spaces make thriving spaces outside and that is the work that we invest in and every single business as you can see here, we have not been to the bayview before, this is the community that is here to support you. it is here to welcome you, with loving and wide open arms in this extraordinary neighborhood at extraordinary corridor. i want to give a shout out to the team members. holly lunn, as well as at darcy who helped support some of the signage here as well. and, with that, we would love to formally, with you and with the mayor and with the supervisor, and partners, cut the ribbon. >> all right. [applause] >> five, four, three, two, one! [cheers and applause] >> congratulations!

>> good afternoon, everyone. i am the mayor of the city and county of san francisco and i am here to welcome mayors from all over the country, including the u.s. conference of mayors on the centre for climate and energy solutions, to this great city. we are all gathered here today for a common cause. of taking meaningful action to combat climate change. as we all no kak this is an issue that is bigger than one of our cities, one of our regions and this country. climate change is the defining issue of our time. and the choices we make today, the commitment we can agree on and are sustained cooperation, will determine whether or not we rise to the challenge. i am proud that san francisco is

one of 150 cities that took part in the survey conducted by the alliance for a sustainable future. writing climate change takes all of our cities working together to share information, practices and ideas so we can come to -- come up with effective solutions that will protect our environment for generations to come. and san francisco, we are truly proud of the work we have been doing for years it for years to implement sustainable policies that work while growing our economy. since 1990, we reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and cut our landfill disposal in half, all while growing our economy by 111%. to do this, which champion zero waste policy, advanced clean energy initiatives, reduced emissions from public transportation and our home to some of the most sustainable buildings in the world.

but we are not stopping there peerk we are adopting policies to meet our goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. by the year 2013, we have committed to cutting our landfill waste -- waste in half, to carbon icing all of our new buildings, and achieving -- by the year 2013 -- 30, we want to be more sustainable. we can achieve this by working across our borders as one a global community, to push for strong environmental protections together, we have the ability to create a cleaner and greener sustainable future for generations to come and as we move forward this week, san francisco, as you know, will be hosting the global climate action summit. i'm so excited that jerry brown has chosen the city and county of san francisco, we have been a

leader in the effort to combat climate change. as we bring people from not only all over the united states, but all over the world to san francisco, we will continue to push the envelope and demand action. the whole point of this climate summit his action. it is about coming up with solutions. san francisco, is much as we live in a bubble, we can't do it alone. we need everyone here and the leaders of many of these great cities who are joining us today will help us lead the way. with that's, i would like to introduce the president of the u.s. conference of mayors, from columbia, south carolina, mayor benjamin doshi has been a great leader and a wonderful leader with the u.s. conference of mayors. mayor benjamin. [applause]

>> thank you, so much for having us here today. we are honored to be with you and i appreciate your generous hospitality. we are looking forward to working with you in the days ahead. my name is steve benjamin. i'm the mayor of columbia, south carolina have a privilege of serving as president of the united states conference of mayors. if you grabbed me a brief point of personal privilege, i will go down a line and have our colleagues here, both the mayors and guests and partners introduce themselves and see who is here and talk really loud. please. >> i'm from california. >> mayor rob rankin. >> mayor thomas [indiscernible].

[cheers and applause] >> the united states conference of mayors has long been a proponent of need to address climate change. mayors have been on the front

lines, taking action on climate protection efforts and in many cases, launched local energy efficiency programs to reduce our carbon footprint in american cities. the president's decision to withdraw from the paris agreement was not only shortsighted, it was not representative of our nation process leaders and their communities. the fact is, the nations of mayors have never waited on washington, d.c. to act. you will see, in the next weeks and months and years ahead, mayors continuing to use our collective power to lead the nation on this critical issue, regardless of what happens at the national level. at the same time, it is critical we have a federal government that takes climate protection seriously and is willing to step up the two the plate to deal with this national and global issue. we do call on the administration and on congress to reengage and work with us as we tackle this incredibly challenging issue.

our efforts are strengthened by the support of strong partners. that is why we've formed an alliance with sustainable future to help us engage with the business community. the alliance's purpose is to bring mayors and businesses together to identify ways we can work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build more resilient communities and create a more sustainable future we had a great session earlier this morning. we heard about what cities and business communities are doing together to reduce our carbon footprint. we discuss how this best practices could be replicated throughout the united states. today, the alliance is releasing a new survey of which cities are doing to advance climate solutions and to meet the challenges ahead. the report demonstrates cities of all sizes are committed to action. in fact, we have 75 smaller cities, those less than 100,000 citizens respond to the survey.

this demonstrates there is broad-based support in urban america, suburban america and rural america up for action, if we have access to the right tools and strategies. shows that climate change impacts all of our communities. collectively, we are making a significant difference. right now, our nation needs thoughtful leaders who care about the environment and care about the world that we have inherited from our ancestors. at you care deeply about their world we are passing on to our children. you need to look no further than america's mayors for this leadership. mayors get things done. fighting climate change is no exception to that rule. i would like to ask my friend, a fantastic leader, the chair of the alliance for sustainable future top our salt lake city mayor to unveil the major findings from our reports. mayor?

[applause] >> thank you. thank you, mayor benjamin. i wanted to give you a few brief highlights from the survey. this is the second year we have conducted this research. with this work, our plan is to continue to monitor the progress so -- cities are making towards achieving their climate change goals and to share this information across the country. we are confident this information exchange will identify ways cities and businesses can match up with one another so that policy and programs can be replicated quickly and efficiently. we need to learn from each other and identify resources to help each other achieve our goals. on the reasons why are abundantly clear. as you can see from the answers of a new question, we asked this

year, has your city experience impacts of climate change in the last five years? and the answer is no surprise. ninety-five% -- 95% of the cities said yes. right here in california, you can see the impact most directly through devastating wildfires and droughts, issues impacting my city as well. it is also important to note that cities are not just experiencing one impact of climate change. they are experiencing several changes all at once. so what are we doing about it? our survey found that more than 70% of the cities have energy

efficiency policies for new and existing municipal buildings and more than half have established energy-efficient -- energy efficiency policies for new and existing commercial and residential buildings. in the area of transportation, nearly 60% of city governments have a green vehicle purchasing policies with an additional 26% considering such action. cities have tremendous purchasing power. with cities purchasing over 13,000 vehicles annually, while gas and diesel vehicle purchases are still prevalent, you can see that with these policies in place, a real shift is not only possible, but is underway. besides municipal fleets cap

cities also have options for their residents. with 94% of city respondents having best transit and 92% bike lane policies with implementation. this scrap -- of this scratches the surface of our findings and i encourage you to take a closer look at the survey and thank you very much for being here today. [applause] >> now i would like to introduce mayor john mitchell, the mayor of new bedford, massachusetts for some remarks. >> thank you, mr president. good afternoon everybody. i want to thank mayor benjamin for your leadership in the space you are one of the mayors he pushed very hard for all the mayors to sign up to the 100%

renewable pledge. i want to commend jackie for her leadership as well in promoting this report and making this happen. everyone should take a close look at it's contents and spread the word. because it is a reminder of two things. that mayors are the big problems facing america and facing the world, americas mayors are meeting the challenge. secondly, those challenges are very real. i want to thank tom cochrane executive director, for being in the space for a long time before it was popular to be that way for america's mayors and the staff is well. america's mayors clock by the very nature of their job, don't have to remove themselves from the abstract and get real. we are where the rubber hits the road and every respect. and it is true of climate change in our particular case, new

bedford is the biggest commercial fishing porridge in the united states. we see, over time, in the fish that come in. a few years ago we are one of the biggest lobster ports in the world his. we are no longer that because the water has gotten warmer at those lobsters back even though they have small legs, have migrated north. they are no longer around in southern new england. it is one example. i see our beaches where -- which are not nearly the size of what they once worked when i was a kid. and we see what happens this week. i just wanted to throw this out there as food for thought about the kinds of things that mayors deal with. mayors on the east coast of the united states have to be mindful of hurricanes. mayors from miami all the way to new bedford. and this week i was asked on an am station, what about the storm , florence that is in the middle of the atlantic? i said, you know, we are keeping

an eye on it. we always do. i should probably take a closer look. i had my team take a closer look at it and i did my own google research. i found a washington post case. this is three days ago that said that the storm, florence, where was the atlantic three days ago was in a place where no storm had hit the united states since 1851. out of 67 identified storms in that time. sixty-seven, not a single one hit the united states. the folks in the carolinas are about to learn clock you will shortly -- and fortune experience in a few days, it will hit the east coast. so the aberrations are becoming the norm. and we see it all the time. that is why a report like this helps us focus on not only what we can do to prevent the

problems today, but also, ten years from now, 20 years from now, 50 years from now. the survey reported that cities spend $1.6 billion annually on electricity, which represents a significant amount of purchasing power and opportunity for cities , as mayor benjamin was alluding to, catch a loop -- use collective influence to make change. so we do. think do it in columbia and they don't salt lake city and across america. fifty-four% of the cities have renewable energy goals another 80% are considering setting a goal. these goals have made real results in cities. they have reduced our electric consumption considerably from fossil fuels. in our particular case, we are at 71% renewable. there are eight cities in america who have hit 100% and more that are rapidly approaching. sixty-five% pure care for

municipal operations. and they derives the vast majority of their needs through renewable sources. i will add these other data points, 37% of cities have set communitywide renewable energy goals with another 19% considering it at 51% of cities have policies or programs that help citizens and businesses cues renewable energy options. these numbers are going to grow in part because of the idea sharing mechanism that is the u.s. conference of mayors. we talked to one another and share ideas. again, this is another place where we are sitting dorsett single standard. as mayor benjamin mentioned, we do not wait for the federal government to act. thank you, everybody. [applause] >> thank you, mayor mitchell. i will invite the trustee of the

u.s. conference of mayors and the mayor mayor of des moines, iowa. >> mayor benjamin, all mayors, we are proud to be her as a mayor of san francisco said. it is a convening of people who are elected, and others to talk about the future of this planet and talk about the future of this country and talk about it from a perspective that is local quite frankly, for all of us, remembered some of the work -- and a look at tom cochrane back here and remembering being in copenhagen. boy, we had some great hopes and thoughts and hopeful outcomes that were going to happen as a result of that convening. but we all know that not everything happens that we wanted to have happen. i will tell you that it is local government leaders like the people that are here before you today whose voices jumped out.

after that occasion, all the way to parents, we had to show not only in the united states that local government that this is where stuff happens. this is where the consequences of actions and inactions on climate change actually manifest themselves. someplace, somewhere. it is not just the mayors here, it is a mayors around the world. i know that we continue, through the conference of mayors, to speak with other mayors around the world and i believe that it is those mayors at the local levels that spoke out and gave the courage to the heads of state to vote for and accept the paris climate agreements. in spite of the fact that there is debate as to whether the united states is still in, i want you to know that there is over 500 mayors that have said we are still in. we are still part of this wasp was to go along with thousands

of other mayors around the world , as we celebrate that moment in knowing that this is also where it happens. this is where we will have to take the actions that are necessary to meet those paris goals. with that, i will say that in des moines, iowa, we sit in the middle of the country and you always wonder, what are they doing here? there is no sea level rise and there's probably not a hurricane there, but you should have been in joint -- des moines on june 30th this year, you would've had a nice day up until about 9:00 and then it started raining by about 1230, there was areas in des moines that received over 10 inches of rain and three and a half hours port i have to tell you, that is like a monsoon. out in the middle of the plains

in iowa and the cornfields in the streams on the rivers, they filled up really fast. and those are becoming more normal. we have to decide how we will work to do it and how we will achieve our goals. i will tell you, it is not only those of us at the local government level, but it is partnering with our businesses, with our residents that are in each and every one of our communities in making a plan and working for a plan and often, those are led by the city. in our case, one of the great accomplishments that has happened in iowa and in des moines, art -- our disc attributed -- our distributed energy provider. started in 2004 when they had two% of their power created by renewables. today, it was just verified by the iowa utility commission, at

the end of 2017, mid american energy, through wind, has stepped up now to 50.8% of their energy that they produce is by renewables. they have also committed -- they have two new projects going along that will boost their investment and went into. as a look at my partner over here from salt lake city, by over $14 billion. by 2020, we are hoping that we will effectually create 100% of the energy produced by mid american energy in iowa through their sources in the energy they provide that will be renewable. that is a kind of gold that we need to reach. that is a kind of partners we need to have. let's hope we can accomplish it

and maintain and retain this planet for all of our future generations. thanks. [applause] >> thank you frank for your comments. we are all available for questions. our president, our chairman, executive director and c.e.o., tom cochrane is here with us as well. he did not introduce themselves earlier but he and bob have been doing fantastic work making sure the business community of mayors have been working together for the last several years. we look forward to watching that partnership grow. questions? i will say this. i am with you -- if you get no questions, you wrap it up really quickly, i do want to congratulate mayor breach, not only taking her leadership role here in city hall, but almost immediately thereafter, she was named a cochair of mayors for

the 100% clean and renewable energy partnership that we have with the sierra club. we are ready for 100. this leadership, i want to highlight because mayor bree joins myself and others in a barbed -- bipartisan, bicoastal commitment to this. this is not d.r. or red or blue issue. this is an issue that seems to protect america's feature and of course, make sure we maintain our rightful place in the world. as you meet people over the next several days, i am going back home to south carolina to deal with the issues presented by hurricane florence. as you meet people, make sure it is clear to them that america's leaders, may be, save one are committed to working on this issue together in a thoughtful, meaningful way. we are stronger when we work together. thank you and god bless you. [applause]

>> please welcome, canyon sayers roots. [♪]

[speaking indigenous language] >> it is still very important to recognize the indigenous peoples , histories of these spaces and places that we occupy in today's postcolonial secular settler society. it is important that we recognize we have a responsibility to the earth. indigenous peoples have been stewards of the land for thousands and thousands of years i am honored to be present here that you acknowledge that. i am here to offer a song. my mother and grandmother believe that one song and ceremony and dancing stops, so does the earth. i too believe that and i would like to offer this song. without that we would not be here.

we share this time and space together for a reason. it is with humility and gratitude and present mindedness that i welcome you here to our territory. [singing]

>> can i hear a good '02 send that out in a good way? we have a responsibility to the earth. we need to ensure safety. don't support carbon trading and please keep the fossil fuels in the soil. honor our mother earth and our father sky and our next generation. [cheers and applause] [♪]

>> please welcome our master of ceremonies, the head of communications for bloomberg, linda douglas. [♪] >> hello and welcome to the global climate action summit. i am honored and humbled to be here in san francisco was such extraordinary leaders from around the world. these are leaders from every sector, every industry, business , government, technology , philanthropy, entrepreneurs and artists, inventors, investors, scientists and students. all united by a common goal. the goal of protecting the people who live on our planet by confronting the existential threat of climate change.

we are off to an auspicious start. on saturday, tens of thousands of citizens around the world march to demand greater climate action to fulfil the promises made three years ago in paris. our task becomes more urgent every day. can this summer, temperatures, once again reached record highs. people are dying as wildfires burned their houses to the ground. they are starving as droughts destroy their crops. hurricanes and other disasters have claimed thousands of lives. displacing entire populations causing billions and billions of dollars in damage. of course, at this very moment, hurricane florence is bearing down on the eastern seaboard and already one and a half million people have been told to evacuate their homes. florence is said to bring 50% more rainfall due to climate and human -induced climate change. meanwhile, tropical storm olivia

is sweeping across hawaii. since the start of the hurricane season, this is an astonishing number, there have been eight other named storms in the atlantic and 14 more in the pacific. here in california, more than a dozen different wildfires are tearing across the state. so now is not the time for us to rest. this year marks the halfway point between the adoption of the paris agreement and 2020. a critical moment when carbon emissions must peak if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change. by mid century, we must be carbon neutral. these are ambitious goals. by the speakers you will be hearing from over the next few days are working hard to achieve them. it won't be easy and the solutions won't be perfect. we are learning by doing. as we undertake a more radical shift in our global economy that has ever been previously undertaken.

we will make mistakes and we will see some failures along the way. but we cannot and we will not back away from this fight. so all of you here today and all of you watching around the world are proof that we will not back away from this fight. please join me in welcoming someone who is heading the way right here in san francisco. the newly elected mayor of san francisco, london breed. [♪] [cheers and applause] >> mayor breed: hello, everyone. is my distinct pleasure to welcome all of you to san francisco for this incredible, a global climate action summit. we are united here today to take action on the defining issue of our time. protecting our environment and fighting against climate change.

this is an issue that is bigger than one city, one region or country. the choices and commitments we make over the next few days and are sustained cooperation will determine if we are able to lead a better future for the next generation. california has long been a leader on climate action and san francisco has been at the forefront of those efforts. since 1990, we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and cut our landfill disposal in half. all while growing our economy by 111%. [cheers and applause] >> mayor breed: we are proof that you can have a strong and growing economy while advancing ambitious environmental policies we were the first major safety to ban single use plastic bags and i pushed legislation to establish the strongest set --

styrofoam ban and enact drug takeback policies to test 40 tons of prescription medication out of our bay and landfill. [cheers and applause] and our 100% renewable energy program, clean power s.f., has produced and resulted in greenhouse gas reductions, equivalent to taking 17,000 cars off our roads. by the year 2030, we are committing to for major initiatives in san francisco. cutting our landfill waste in half. decarbonization all new buildings, achieving 100% renewable energy and continuing to issue more green bonds to finance critical infrastructure that is desperately needed to combat climate change. today, thank you. [applause] >> mayor breed: today i ask you to join us.

the impacts of climate change are not constrained by borders. our actions shouldn't be either. let's send the world a bold message of action, unity and determination. together we can go further to protect our planet and our people for generations to come. thank you all so much for being here and enjoy your time in san francisco. [cheers and applause]

>> president cohen: good morning, ladies and gentlemen. welcome you to another edition of budget and finance committee, our fall edition. welcome you back to the chamber and back in the legislative break and back and ready to get into action. a great agenda prepared for everyone today. announcements? >> silence all cell phones, completed speaker cards and copies of documents to be included in the files submitted to the clerk. items acted on will be in the