photo by: Bremen Keasey

Lawrence officials, representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy and a delegation from Tocopilla, Chile, celebrated a historic sister cities agreement Thursday, July 18, 2024, between Lawrence and Tocopilla.

Mayor Bart Littlejohn signed a historic proclamation Thursday morning formally establishing Tocopilla, Chile, and Lawrence as sister cities with a focus on a commitment to transitioning away from fossil fuels.

The agreement between Lawrence and Tocopilla, a city of about 25,000 along the coast of northern Chile, was officially approved in March. The relationship was created in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Net-Zero World Initiative, which began in 2021 as a partnership between countries working to transition to net zero energy systems.

Throughout the week, a delegation of Chilean officials and U.S. Department of Energy representatives visited Lawrence to celebrate the agreement, which was officially signed by Littlejohn and Tocopilla Mayor Ljubica Kurtovic.

Rob Horner, a representative with the U.S. Department of Energy, said the sister city partnership between Lawrence and Tocopilla is the first specifically created as part of the Net Zero World Initiative, which involves the U.S. and eight other countries, including Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria and Indonesia.

Horner noted that Chile has been a leader in the transition to using renewable energy, saying that for parts of the day, the country uses 100% renewable resources to power its grid. Tocopilla has been “at the forefront” of the transition to renewable energy since it has recently shut down its coal power plants, and Horner believes the partnership will help the two cities learn from each other about the clean energy transition.

“We are in some ways following Chile’s lead in this transition,” Horner said. “I think this can be an incredibly fruitful partnership.”

Littlejohn said that the transition from fossil fuels would be a challenge, but he believes the new partnership will help the communities leverage their resources together to better achieve the goals of using sustainable clean energy.

“This endeavor will protect our environment and serve as a legacy for future generations, demonstrating our commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable development,” Littlejohn said.

The City of Lawrence now has a fourth sister city, with Tocopilla joining Eutin, Germany; Hiratsuka, Japan; and Iniades, Greece, as the city’s global partners.