Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup announced Tuesday at a City Council meeting that he is one of five mayors in the United States selected to join the British government for a greenhouse gas convention.

Walkup said he was selected because Tucson is currently fourth in the country for innovative eco-friendly actions. The three categories taken into consideration were use of alternative fuels, alternative energies, and conservation of natural resources, he said.

The greenhouse gas convention will be in London starting Sunday for one week. The Mayor will leave Friday and return on the following Saturday.

While in London, Walkup said he will be presenting to other mayors from around the world on programs and technologies Tucson uses to better the environment. Among the most important topics Walkup said he plans on discussing is photovoltaic (PV) technology.

“I want to know who is doing what to expand and use PV technology,” he said.

PV technology is a 50-year-old alternative energy solution that Tucson is currently moving forward with, said Walkup.

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, for example, is planning on building a 100-acre lot of PV technologies, said Walkup. The lot would produce eight mega watts of energy, enough to make the base self-sufficient and independent from Tucson Electric Power.

The Mayor also said PV technology could a be a major breakthrough for Tucson’s water issues, and may insure the city’s residents a source of clean water in the future.

“Tucson leads the world in water technology,” said Walkup. “We want to put a big field of photovoltaics on a reservoir in Oro Valley which would pump water with solar energy.”

With water being one of Tucson’s biggest concerns, Walkup said the city should continue pursuing alternative solutions. PV technology is one way to do that, he said.

“Right now we get 60 percent of the water people use back,” said Walkup. “10 percent of that is being treated and used again, and that is not nearly enough.”

While in London for the convention, Walkup will be accompanied by the other selected mayors from Seattle, Wash., Las Vegas, Long Beach, Calif., and Berkeley, Calif. Walkup said he plans on bringing back more information on how to keep Tucson leading the way for eco-friendly living.