Roanoke should join a global organization seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the local level, two Roanoke City Council members announced Tuesday.

At a news conference, Mayor Nelson Harris and Councilwoman Gwen Mason said they will ask council Monday to pass a resolution making Roanoke a member of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and its "Cities for Climate Protection Campaign."

The ICLEI group, which supports the Kyoto Protocol, would provide Roanoke with technical assistance, software, training and other tools to measure the city's emissions, set targets for reducing emissions, adopt an action plan and monitor the results.

Harris and Mason announced the initiative as they stood by a municipal recycling truck and the city government's first hybrid car, two of Roanoke's ongoing efforts to clean up its environment.

If council adopts the resolution, Roanoke would become the second locality in Virginia to join ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, formerly known as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. Arlington County was Virginia's first locality to join.

ICLEI is an international association of more than 475 local governments that are committed to sustainable development.

Harris said he learned more about the clean-air initiative at a recent mayoral conference, where officials discussed ways to support the Kyoto Protocol by measuring emissions and taking action at the local level.

The protocol is a United Nations agreement on climate change in which participating countries agree to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The United States and Australia are the only developed nations that have not signed the agreement.

Mason, a new council member who emphasized the environment during her campaign last spring, said the program will reduce Roanoke's air pollution, improve its quality of life and save money.

If council adopts the resolution, Mason plans to tout Roanoke's efforts when she attends the governor's natural resources summit Monday at Hungry Mother State Park in Marion.

"We're taking our environmental commitment to the next level," she said.

It would cost Roanoke $1,750 a year to belong to ICLEI, plus an unknown amount to administer the program and measure its emissions annually. Roanoke could start participating within weeks after joining the clean-air program.

The city's other environmental initiatives include planting trees, recycling, installing energy-efficient air conditioning, heating, lighting and hot water units and water-free urinals in municipal buildings.

The city also buys only ultra low-sulfur diesel fuel, monitors fuel consumption and fuel spills, recycles antifreeze and plans to buy more hybrid vehicles for the city fleet.