FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Officials in Flagstaff agreed to undergo a major push to inventory pollution sources and limit their future output in a continuing effort to "Go Green."

The City Council signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, committing the city to meet or beat goals in the Kyoto Protocols, which mandate reductions in greenhouse gases to seven percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

The first step for the city will be hiring a consultant to do an inventory of the city's current carbon dioxide emissions and map out ways to lower them.

Suggestions include retiring some of the city's vehicle fleet early and replacing them with hybrid vehicles.

Mayor Joe Donaldson lead the Council in Tuesday's vote after being presented with petitions gathered by local Sierra Club members.

Sierra Club volunteers helped collect the petitions and said they were thrilled the city signed the agreement.

"Mayor Donaldson and the City Council should be commended for their leadership in curbing the city's global warming pollution," said Bob Sutherland, Sierra Club's Plateau Group chairman.

The only other Arizona city to have signed the Mayors Agreement is Tucson, but 261 other cities across the nation are on board.

The federal government has refused to agree to the 1997 Kyoto Protocols, an international treaty that attempts to limit greenhouse gases widely believed to cause global warming.

___

Information from: Arizona Daily Sun, http://www.azdailysun.com/

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.