Washington pushes ahead on climate change agenda

WENATCHEE -- With no clear direction from the federal government, the state of Washington is blazing its own trails to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gases.

On Tuesday, the state House approved Gov. Chris Gregoire's plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions, laying the groundwork for a long-term effort to tackle the causes of climate pollution.

The measure now goes to the Senate.

The bill is a continuation of work started by Gregoire and the Legislature last year, when lawmakers passed a bill setting goals for dramatically reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other environmentally-harmful gasses by 2050.

Gregoire also established a statewide Climate Advisory Team, which earlier this month presented the governor with its preliminary report and 47 recommendations for action.

In an interview with The Wenatchee World on Thursday, Department of Ecology Director Jay Manning, co-chairman of the climate group, outlined the steps the state is taking to address climate change.

He said the key elements of the state plan include adopting clean car emission standards, promoting green building and renewable energy, creating green jobs and increasing in-state fuel supplies.

The state has also joined several western states and Canadian provinces to form the Western Climate Initiative, which is working toward a regional cap on carbon emissions and creating a market for companies that surpass those reduction goals to sell credits to companies that have not.

Manning said legislation now working its way through the current session would require emissions reporting for industries that produce 10,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases each year or have vehicle fleets that emit at least 2,500 metric tons per year; create a green-collar jobs program through the state Department of Community Trade and Economic Development; and would ratify the state's commitment to the Climate Advisory Team and Western Climate Initiative.
Manning acknowledged that the challenges to reducing climate pollution are immense right now.

He said technology does not yet exist to achieve all of the state's goals. But the work done so far lays the groundwork for that to happen in the future.

He added that while California is, by far, the leader among states in efforts to address climate change, Washington is one of a handful of states that are making great strides to catch up.
Other states include Oregon, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

Over the next several months, Washington's climate team will choose a few of its recommendations to further develop into proposals that will go before the 2009 Legislature, he said.

Michelle McNiel: 664-7152
mcniel@wenworld.com