Chicago became another in a long list of U.S. cities taking the lead in the fight against climate change.

On Thursday, Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley unveiled a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 — and continue to cut even faster beyond that.

"I believe that when you do such things as planting trees and creating open space, when you invest resources to remove pollution from the air and encourage the construction of buildings that are smart for the environment, then you enhance quality of life for all the residents of the city."

But, this is about more than cleaning up our environment, the Mayor said.  "At the same time, when we make these improvements we're greening our economy for the future and creating the jobs of tomorrow," Daley said.

The detailed Chicago Climate Action Plan outlines 29 actions that can be taken for mitigating greenhouse gas in four areas: buildings; transportation; energy; and waste pollution.

Other cities have set similar goals, but Chicago's plan is the first to both identify emission sources and anticipated impacts, and propose ideas that specifically respond to that research.

Three Ideas in the Plan that Chicago will Implement Right Away: 

Steps Being Considered:

"Thankfully, during this tough economy there is some funding already committed from private resources to help pay for parts of this plan, but not nearly enough." Daley said.  "Over the next few years we'll be depending on the commitment of individuals, businesses and others to do their part. And, of course, it will very important for Springfield and the federal government in Washington, D.C. to do their part and provide greater resources for public transportation, building improvements, research on new technologies and other measures," he said.

Steps for Chicago Individuals  to Take:

Chicago has already been a leader in innovative initiatives in their goal to become "the most environmentally friendly city in the nation", like,  planting more than a half million trees, mandating the construction of environmentally friendly buildings and installing roof top gardens on city owned buildings.

Chicago also boasts more Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified (LEED) buildings than any other city and has more than four million square feet of green roof projects either completed or underway. Over the past two years alone, the city has helped to distribute more than one million energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs to residents and passed a comprehensive storm water management ordinance.

The City launched a Climate Action Web site at www.chicagoclimateaction.org where individuals and businesses can learn about climate change, what they can do in their daily lives to reduce emissions, and what the City is doing to protect and preserve the environment.

"In Chicago we have long appreciated that cities are no longer the enemies of the natural environment; rather they're leading the way in preserving and protecting it," Daley said.