U.S.A. Mayors in Copenhagen to Urge World Leaders to Act on Climate Protection

U.S. Conference of Mayors to Honor Copenhagen Mayor

WASHINGTON, December 11 - Led by U.S. Conference of Mayors President Seattle (WA) Mayor Greg
Nickels, a delegation of U.S. Mayors including the organization's Vice
President Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, Second Vice President Los
Angeles (CA) Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Past President Trenton (NJ)
Mayor Douglas Palmer, will attend the United Nations Climate Change
Conference (COP 15) and deliver remarks at other international events
including the Copenhagen Climate Summit for Mayors and sessions sponsored by
the European Commission.

In addition to attending COP-15 sessions and official workshops, The U.S.
Conference of Mayors leaders will be joining with mayors from all over the
world at the Copenhagen Climate Summit for Mayors, where the Conference will
be honoring Lord Mayor of Copenhagen Ritt Bjerregaard at a December 14th
event sponsored by the organization.

Conference of Mayors Vice President Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz
will present the keynote address to a European Union Committee of the Regions
(COR) session on Wednesday, December 16, at the Bella Center in Copenhagen,
the venue of the COP 15 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Mayor Kautz
addressed the Committee of the Regions Meeting of its Parliament in October
2009. As she did in October, Mayor Kautz will describe the central role of
U.S. Mayors in climate protection efforts in the nation and in defining the
national government's agenda on this issue.

U.S. Conference of Mayors President Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels,
Conference of Mayors Second Vice President Los Angeles Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa, Past President Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, and New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg will also play central roles in the Climate Summit
for Mayors.

Conference President Nickels will chair a round-table session on citizen
engagement in climate protection. Second Vice President Villaraigosa will
focus on energy efficiency and public-private partnerships in climate
protection. Mayor Palmer, who has repeatedly won national recognition for his
brownfields rehabilitation and reclamation programs, as well as other climate
protection innovations, will contribute insights into mayoral leadership
strategies. Mayor Bloomberg will describe how his city is pioneering in
programs to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran said, "This
COP 15 United Nations Climate Change Conference is significant for many
reasons, including increasingly strong recognition of how mayors throughout
the world are foremost in efforts to save our planet. We are pleased at the
great opportunity for U.S. mayors and mayors of other countries to share
their leadership strategies to stem climate change and push national agendas
in this area."

Conference President Nickels, founder of the U.S. Mayors climate
movement, has led more than 1,000 U.S. Mayors to join as signatories to the
Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement — a landmark commitment to act to
reduce carbon emissions in U.S. cities consistent with the Kyoto Protocol.
This effort was originated in February of 2005 with 141 original mayoral
signers symbolizing the 141 countries that signed the Kyoto Treaty. As a
result of this agreement, U.S. Mayors have embraced many innovative actions
to make their cities more energy efficient and less carbon dependent.

The U. S. Conference of Mayors sponsored event will be held Monday,
December 14th at Axelborg Banquet Hall from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and is
open to the media (please see the number above for access).

    WHO:    Seattle, WA Mayor Greg Nickels, USCM President
            Burnsville, MN Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, USCM Vice President
            Los Angeles, CA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, USCM Second Vice
             President
            Trenton, NJ Mayor Douglas Palmer, USCM Past President
            New York, NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg
            Tom Cochran, USCM Executive Director and CEO

    WHAT:   Reception and Buffet Dinner Honoring Lord Mayor of Copenhagen
            Ritt Bjerregaard

    WHEN:   Monday, December 14, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

    WHERE:  The Axelborg Banquet Hall
            Vesterbrogade 4A
            1620 Kobenhaven V, Denmark

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of
cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,139 such cities in the
country today, each represented in the Conference by its chief elected
official, the Mayor.

Debra Dehaney Howard (Copenhagen), +1-301-706-0234, ddehaney at usmayors.org, or Elena Temple (U.S.), +1-202-309-4906, etemple at usmayors.org, both of the U.S. Conference of Mayors