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# O’Connor spreads the green gospel
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/oconnor-spreads-the-green-gospel/
- Published: 2007-02-22T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:07:32.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Environment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*O’Connor represents U.S. in overseas climate talks*

KYOTO Pam O’Connor is putting Santa Monica on the global map.

Over the weekend, the bubbly city councilwoman was busy imparting her knowledge of global climate issues at a conference in the original imperial city of Japan.

Sponsored by ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability,an international organization of which Santa Monica is one of the founding members, the Kyoto Conference on Climate Change brought together leaders from across the globe to address pressing environmental issues.

O’Connor is still in Japan and was not available for comment. After the conference commenced on Feb. 18, O’Connor was headed for Santa Monica’s sister city in Fujinomiya, according to Tanya Imola, a spokeswoman for the ICLEI.

The four-term city councilwoman was selected to represent all United States member cities in ICLEI at the conference, which was heavily attended by delegates from cities in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. O’Connor gave opening remarks at the conference’s kickoff on Feb. 16 and a presentation on sustainable transportation initiatives currently underway in Santa Monica.

Based in Toronto, ICLEI is an international association of cities dedicated to sustainable living. One of the leading programs in ICLEI concerns climate change and how cities around the world could work together in implementing an action strategy.

More than 700 cities around the world have participated in ICLEI initiatives, including Santa Monica.

“The idea is to share environmental information and ideas in order to effectuate policies on a local level,” said Mayor Richard Bloom on Wednesday. “The kind of things that if more and more municipalities are on board, we can have material impact on important issues like climate change.”

Santa Monica is considered to be a leader in sustainable initiatives, having implemented a Sustainable City Plan, encouraged local businesses to engage in environmentally friendly practices and passed city ordinances that address environmental issues.

During the conference, O’Connor spoke of the progress local governments in the United States have made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The cities in ICLEI draw from each other’s experiences in implementing sustainable measures. Some of the sustainable practices in Santa Monica were derived from ICLEI member cities,and vice versa,according to Bloom.It’s all part of the plan to get all cities on the same page.

“If other communities don’t join in, we would only have a marginal impact,” Bloom said.

Though the entire City Council was welcome to attend, O’Connor was the lone member to hop on a plane for the 11-hour ride to the Orient. Bloom said he would’ve liked to attend, but was restricted by scheduling conflicts.

The incoming chairwoman of the MTA board, O’Connor has made transportation and the environment two of her core issues.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/022207-05_01.jpg)

(Photo: Photo courtesy)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 22, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/022207.pdf?ref=smdp.com)