SALT LAKE CITY — With just 12 days before the primary election, Salt Lake City mayoral candidates debated environmental issues facing the city and how they would handle them if elected to office.

All eight candidates running for office were in attendance.

• David Garbett
• Stan Penfold
• David Ibarra
• Luz Escamilla
• Richard Goldberger
• Jim Dabakis
• Erin Mendenhall
• Rainer Huck

Here are three takeaways from the debate:

Salt Lake City has the potential to lead the state and nation in addressing climate change

All eight candidates said they felt sustainable energy was a necessity for the city going forward.

Both Garbett and Penfold said Salt Lake City can lead the world on climate change and they hit home the point renewable energy is desperately needed in the city sooner than HB411's goal of 2030.

Other candidates echoed this point and several candidates — Escamilla, Garbett, Penfold and Mendenhall — brought up the importance of the city’s upcoming opportunity to renew its contract with Rocky Mountain Power. All four emphasized how crucial negotiations with Rocky Mountain Power are to the future of Salt Lake's air quality.

Both Ibarra and Escamilla said Salt Lake can't reach the goal of 100% renewable energy by itself — they stressed the importance of collaborating with other cities in the Salt Lake Valley to lead this effort. Dabakis said a hard line was necessary and the mayor should set a precedent and make it clear the city will not accept coal any longer.

Goldberger said if elected, he would implement contests with prize money to incentivize citizens to create ideas for energy efficiency.

The outlier on this issue was Huck, who said he believed nuclear energy was the way of the future and a nuclear plant should be built in the city, rather than focusing other renewable energy options such as solar panels.

Most candidates aren't happy about the Utah Inland Port Authority

Almost all the candidates said they felt the controversial Utah Inland Port Authority was an environmental justice issue and a threat to Salt Lake's air quality.

Six of eight candidates said they would continue Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the creation of the Utah Inland Port Authority.

Both Huck and Goldberger said if elected they would cease the lawsuit as it's a waste of taxpayer money and time.

Garbett encouraged the public to continue protesting against the port authority, although he added civil discourse should be peaceful. Penfold echoed the idea but added people should protest however they see is most effective.

Dabakis said he was especially passionate about the issue and spoke about negotiating parts of the inland port bill with Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes.

Last month, multiple port authority protestors were arrested after storming the Chamber of Commerce Building and some violent confrontations ensued in the aftermath.

The west side of Salt Lake City is disproportionately affected by bad air quality

Most candidates agreed that environmental justice issues coupled with social injustice issues affect the west side of the city more so than the east.

Escamilla said she was passionate about this issue, considering she lives in Rose Park. She pointed out that talking about air quality issues isn't on the agenda many families living in the area since they are instead worrying about what to feed their children. She suggested increasing education in these areas will help empower these communities.

Ibarra echoed these ideas and said the next mayor of Salt Lake City needs to care about justice for everyone and close the gap in these areas.

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