Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon will convene the Mayor’s Climate Council for its inaugural meeting on Tuesday, May 12, at 1 p.m. The council’s role is to identify and prioritize strategies to meet the City’s adopted goal to reduce community greenhouse gases 80 percent by 2050. 

“Knoxville residents are concerned about our environment and what we can all do to reduce the impact of pollution and climate change on our community,” Mayor Kincannon said. “This convening is a core campaign commitment I made and I’m looking forward to meeting with this group of leaders.”

Kincannon has also addressed the environment and climate change as a core administration priority in her recent State of the City Address and Budget proposal.

The group will meet bi-monthly over the course of nine months, focusing their discussions on emissions in three categories: Transportation (July 2020); Energy and Buildings (September 2020); and Waste (November 2020).

Mayor Kincannon will chair the council. The other members of the council are:

        Pastor Chris Battle, The Underground Collective/Battlefield Farms
        Gabe Bolas, Knoxville Utilities Board
        Chris Cimino, University of Tennessee
        Brian Hann, Dewhirst Properties
        Amy Hathaway, Forest Heights Neighborhood Association
        Alicia Hemmings, Sunrise Movement Knoxville Hub
        Stan Johnson, Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development
        Nancy Nabors, Knoxville Chamber
        Cortney Piper, Piper Communications/Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council
        Dr. Stephen Smith, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
        Rebecca Tolene, Tennessee Valley Authority
        George Wallace, Coldwell Banker Wallace


Kincannon staff members Sustainability Director Brian Blackmon and Chief Policy Officer Erin Gill will also sit on and support the council.

The May 12 meeting will be hosted virtually and available for the public to watch live on Community Television at CTVknox.org or on their cable TV channel:

Xfinity (Comcast) – Channel 12
Charter (Spectrum) – Channel 193
WOW! (Knology) – Channel 6
AT&T U-verse – Channel 99


For additional information about the Mayor’s Climate Council visit KnoxvilleTN.gov/ClimateCouncil.