West Coast leaders pledge to fight climate change, together
SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Pacific Coast states and British Columbia will work together to fight the effects of global warming that threaten the region's shared climate and coasts, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell said Thursday.
The two leaders met just days after the Supreme Court rebuked the Bush administration for its inaction over climate change, vindicating states' efforts to combat greenhouse gases and other air pollutants that scientists say contribute to global warming.
California, Oregon and Washington state are spearheading efforts along the West Coast to reduce pollution through new car emissions standards, subsidies and mandates for renewable resources such as wind, solar and wave power and the aggressive development of a biofuels market.
"One of the real benefits of looking at the Pacific Coast and creating a collaboration among the states and the provinces is we create a market place of 50 million people," said Campbell. "I think the market will pay attention."
Campbell said British Columbia would like to join the five-state Western Regional Climate Change Initiative, launched earlier this year by Kulongoski and the governors of Washington, California, Arizona and New Mexico, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gases.
"There are an awful lot of common interests between Oregon and British Columbia," said Campbell. "I want to make sure we are working where we can to reinforce one another's objectives to deal with the issues of climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, learn from one another and create some continental leadership on these issues."
In an interview with The Associated Press, Campbell and Kulongoski said the Supreme Court decision was a critical step in protecting the region's climate. The ruling clears a potential hurdle to the implementation of Oregon's Clean Cars program, a law that requires stricter tailpipe emissions on new cars sold in the state beginning next year.
California was the first to adopt the law, and Campbell said that his government was committed to following suit.
Campbell met the governors of Alaska and Washington state on Wednesday, and visited with California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to speak about climate issues in mid-March.
As a region, California, Washington, Oregon and Nevada emit as much greenhouse gas emissions as the seventh-largest producer of greenhouse gases, the United Kingdom, according to the World Resources Institute.
Although the auto industry continues to fight legal battles from California to Vermont with states that want to implement stricter emissions laws, the Supreme Court ruling is likely to boost the argument that states have the right to set standards. According to the decision, the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate emissions from new cars and trucks under the Clean Air Act.
The ruling could also give states more leverage as they look to curb emissions from power plants that account for 40 percent of carbon emissions in the U.S.
In February, the governors of the Western Regional Climate Change Initiative announced a broad agreement to set pollution reduction targets within six months and design a market-based program - most likely a cap-and-trade system - within 18 months to help reach emission reduction goals.
Cap-and-trade systems work by setting limits on the amount of emissions that major polluters like utilities and other industry can produce. But firms can also buy credits from other companies who emit less emissions than required, so the total pollution levels meets a general cap.
Regional leadership, particularly in the absence of a strong federal policy, is critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, said Chris Miller, director of the global warming campaign for Greenpeace.
"The West Coast is driving environmental policy," said Miller, adding that the Supreme Court ruling is "hugely important because it will ultimately push the feds to act."
This article is republished courtesy of the Salem Statesman Journal:
West Coast leaders pledge to fight climate change, together
