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Park City Welcomes Jane Goodall for MT2030 Summit Opening Night Keynote Address
Park City Welcomes Jane Goodall for Mountain Towns 2030 Net Zero Summit Opening Night Keynote Address
Tickets to opening night event now on sale
Park City, UT (September 10, 2019) - Renowned conservationist and United Nations Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall will headline the Mountain Towns 2030 (MT2030) Net Zero Summit Opening Night on October 2, 2019 at the Eccles Center Theater in Park City, Utah. Dr. Goodall will be joined by environmentalist and author Paul Hawken to inspire mountain communities across North America to commit to achieving carbon neutrality by or near 2030. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and a limited number of tickets for the public are now on sale at www.mt2030.org.
Mountain Towns 2030 is an organization leading mountain towns around the world in developing ambitious net zero goals by 2030. The organization was founded by Park City Municipal Corporation and the Park City Community Foundation, who will co-host the inaugural Mountain Towns 2030 Net Zero Summit, October 2 – 4, in Park City.
“We formed Mountain Towns 2030 because we strongly believe mountain towns have the power to make a global impact on climate change. Local organizations and nonprofits are a big reason we can set ambitious goals and achieve them,” said Park City Mayor Andy Beerman. “The goal is simple - join forces and tackle the biggest challenge to face our communities. Together, we can achieve carbon neutrality, grow our economy, and prove to the world that working together towards ambitious goals results in community passion and action.”
Goodall and Hawken will be joined by leading climate scientists, executives from ski resorts and winter sports industries, national and local environmental non-profits, clean energy impact investors, community leaders and others. Representatives from North American ski resort operators attending will include Alterra Mountain Company, Boyne Resorts, POWDR Corporation, and Vail Resorts.
Following the summit, Mountain Towns 2030 will implement commitments made during the Summit by creating a platform connecting participating communities. The MT2030 platform will enable monitoring and evaluation, sharing of best practices, and amplify the collective voice of mountain towns to encourage other municipalities globally to take action.
The sense of urgency around 2030 continues to escalate. The world’s climate scientists agree—to control global warming at 1.5 degrees, the earth needs drastic reductions in carbon emissions by 2030. Communities need to identify and act on effective solutions immediately.
For tickets to opening night of the Mountain Towns 2030 Net Zero Summit, please visit www.mt2030.org.
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Media Contacts:
Linda Jager, Park City Municipal Corporation, 435-901-2311, linda.jager@parkcity.org
Austin Isbell, Love Communications, 801-631-3256, aisbell@lovecomm.net, media@mt2030.org
About Mountain Towns 2030
Mountain Town 2030 (MT2030) is a coalition of mountain towns that have committed to ambitious carbon reduction goals by 2030. The inaugural Net Zero Summit is the kick-off event for MT2030 and will be held on October 2-4, 2019 in Park City, Utah. The 3-day conference, for invited city and local governments, will feature inspirational speakers and panelists, best practice sharing in focused workshops, collaborative commitments to aggressive goals that will amplify our collective voice to compel our national and global leaders to commit to “zero.”
SolSmart Gold
Park City, Utah Designated “SolSmart Gold” for Advancing Solar Energy Growth
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Celia Peterson
celia.peterson@parkcity.org
435.287.5624
Park City, Utah Designated “SolSmart Gold” for Advancing Solar Energy Growth
PARK CITY, UTAH (November 26, 2018) – Park City, Utah received a Gold designation from the national SolSmart program for making it faster, easier, and more affordable for homes and businesses to go solar.
This designation recognizes Park City for taking bold steps to encourage solar energy growth and remove obstacles for solar development. For companies looking to expand, a SolSmart Gold designation is a signal that Park City is “open for solar business.”
SolSmart, led by The Solar Foundation and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. More than 200 cities, counties, and small towns have achieved SolSmart designation since the program launched in 2016. Park City is one of 91 SolSmart Gold designees. This is especially notable as Utah is a non-home rule state, which means that Park City is not allowed to set its own energy code. Only six communities in non-home rule states have achieved SolSmart Gold.
“We have a clear path to 100% renewables by adopting a mix of energy efficiency measures, working with our utility to build new renewables, and producing solar energy from our rooftops. We want to make it practical and economic for all Parkites to harvest their energy directly from the sun. To achieve SolSmart Gold, we have modified our code to encourage our residents to adopt rooftop solar. We know that local renewables are of local economic benefit and provide clean, cheap energy for our community. This is our future and we are proud to receive this designation,” commented Mayor Andy Beerman.
As a SolSmart designee, Park City can help solar companies reduce the cost of installations and pass savings on to consumers. This allows even more local homes and businesses to obtain affordable, clean, and reliable electricity through solar. The actions Park City has taken will help encourage solar companies to do business in the area, driving economic development and creating local jobs.
To receive designation, cities and counties make changes to their local processes to reduce the time and money it takes to install a solar energy system. This includes evaluating local permitting processes, as well as planning and zoning procedures. SolSmart designees also develop innovations in areas such as market development and finance.
For example, Park City waives permitting fees and has a streamlined process to ensure that solar systems can be permitting within two business days.
SolSmart uses objective criteria to award communities points based on the actions they take to reduce barriers to solar energy development. Communities that take sufficient action are designated either gold, silver, or bronze.
As part of the SolSmart program, a team of national experts provides no-cost technical assistance to help communities achieve designation. All cities and counties are eligible to join the SolSmart program and receive this technical assistance. Interested communities can learn more at SolSmart.org.