Dozens of mayors from across North America, including at least 36 U.S. cities are expected to sign an agreement on Tuesday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the commitments laid out on a global scale in the Paris Climate Accord. The Chicago Climate Charter, to be signed at the North American Climate Summit in Chicago, signals an important step towards reducing emissions and creating jobs of the future, according to sustainability researchers at Cornell University.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

---

Noliwe Rooks, professor of American studies at Cornell University and author of the book “Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and The End of Public Education,” comments on international school strikes, at which students from around the globe demand political action to combat climate change.

Arts and Sciences

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

---

Paul Mutolo, a chemist and director of External Partnerships for the Energy Materials Center at Cornell University, comments on the world's first hydrogen-powered trains, which began service in Germany.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

---

Eilyan Bitar, assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University, comments on a partnership between wind turbine maker Vestas, and battery manufacturer Northvolt.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Engineering

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

---

Laura Skinner, associate director of The Worker Institute at Cornell University and Chair of the institute’s Labor Leading on Climate Initiative comments on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's plans to boost the state's offshore wind industry.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Industrial and Labor Relations

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

New York State

---

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, legislation that sets the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050, has been sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and could be signed as early as tomorrow.

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Law, Government & Public Policy

New York State

---

Shanjun Li, professor of economics and policy at Cornell University, comments on China's decision to gradually open up its car industry to foreign investment by removing existing limits to foreign ownership of car ventures. 

International

Business, Economics & Entrepreneurship

Law and Policy

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

---

Keith Tidball, assistant director for disaster education at Cornell Cooperative Extension and faculty fellow at the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University, says that individual preparedness is vital to the safety of millions of Americans who are in the path of Hurricane Irma. Tidball’s experience includes work in post-Katrina New Orleans, in New York and New Jersey following Hurricane Sandy, and in Joplin, Missouri, following the devastating tornado of 2011.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

---

Civil and environmental engineering professor Edwin Cowen is Faculty Director for Energy at the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University. He says storing power in so-called “nanogrids” is a critical step in building resilient communities.

Engineering

---

Keith Tidball is the assistant director for disaster education at Cornell Cooperative Extension and a faculty fellow at the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University. He has experienced multiple disaster response and recovery deployments, including work in post-Katrina New Orleans, in New York and New Jersey following Hurricane Sandy, and in Joplin, Missouri, following the devastating tornado of 2011. It’s not clear yet if Jose will make landfall in the United States, but he says individual preparedness is still very important.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

---