Gov. Locke Announces Global Warming Targets
This story courtesy of Earth Share of Washington organization Climate Solutions
State leadership comes at a critical time
Gov. Gary Locke called for more aggressive actions to combat global warming in a press conference on Wednesday, in his first major recommendations since West Coast Governors Global Warming Initiative was launched by the governors of Washington, Oregon and California last year.
Locke called for Washington state to set greenhouse gas emissions targets, including a return to the 1990 statewide emissions level by 2010 and a target of 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. He also called for the state to incorporate aggressive energy efficiency measures into updates of state building energy codes and to set goals and implement strategies and incentives to increase retail energy sales from renewable resources during the next decade.
"Although the issue of global warming is much bigger than just the West Coast states, action on our part is necessary because of the inaction of the Bush Administration," Locke said.
"These targets and timelines set the stage for a meaningful, results-oriented climate policy for the state," said KC Golden, policy director for Climate Solutions. "The targets provide a yardstick for measuring progress. They send signals to private energy markets to invest in solutions. They provide a strong stimulus to our clean energy economy and help us reduce fossil fuel dependence and costs."
Locke's leadership at the state level is particularly relevant as Russia joins the Kyoto Protocol. Russia's participation triggers an international agreement that moves the rest of the world towards common solutions to climate change. "The international train is moving out of the station," said Golden. "This state action is a declaration that forward-looking states can't afford to wait for the federal government to get with the program. Governor Locke's leadership makes sure that Washington state won't be left behind as rest of the world launches a new clean energy economy."
Locke has joined with Gov. Kulongoski of Oregon and Gov. Schwarzenegger of California in the West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative. The three governors are expected to make additional recommendations based on reports from staff and stakeholder groups later this year.
