Western Climate Initiative provides much-needed leadership on capping climate pollution in U.S.
The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) today unveiled their final design for a regional program to reduce global warming pollution in Arizona and six other western states and four Canadian provinces by at least 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. The regional agreement was praised by environmental groups as a major milestone in the effort to tackle global warming. The plan includes a cap on stationary pollution sources such as power plants and refineries as well as the transportation sector making it the largest reductions plan in the world.
“The Western states have a lot to lose from global warming so it makes sense that the West would act big when it comes to solutions,” said David Rogers on behalf of Environment Arizona. “Committing to a plan to limit global warming pollution will help move Arizona, the West and the country away from our over-dependence on fossil fuels and spur the transition to a clean energy economy.“
The WCI was established in 2007 by the governors of Arizona, New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington. Since then the states of Utah and Montana and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec have joined.
“In the absence of leadership from Washington, D.C., these Western governors deserve tremendous credit for recognizing the urgency of the issue and working together to put solutions in place,” stated Rogers. “We hope that the leadership provided by these Governors will set an example for others, including our leaders in the nation’s capitol, to follow immediately with strong science-based action.”
Environmental groups were quick to point out much work remains in the months and years ahead as officials hammer out details of the regional and state-specific programs designed to reduce global warming pollution and shift to clean energy solutions. Environmental groups are focused on a range of important details including whether pollution allowances are given to polluters for free, or whether they are auctioned off with the revenues spent in the public interest. The agreement unveiled today requires that, at least, 25% of the allowances be auctioned by 2020 and encourages states to go further.
“The smartest, cheapest way to tackle global warming is to make companies pay for every ton of pollution and use the revenue to ease the transition to a clean energy economy,” said Rogers.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI); in which 10 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states have agreed to reduce global warming pollution from power plants, all of the states have committed to auctioning nearly or fully 100 percent of their pollution allowances. RGGI plans to hold its first auction of pollution allowances this week on September 25th.
The WCI stakeholders will continue to refine the design elements of the regional program through November of this year. Over the next several years, decision-makers in each of the states will need to work out their plans for implementing the program, which is scheduled to take effect in 2012.
