2004 Press Release West Coast States Strengthen Joint Climate Protection Strategy Acrobat PDF | 95 KB Report West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative Staff Recommendations to the Governors Acrobat PDF | 734 KB Appendices Appendix A: Media Clips Acrobat PDF | 3 MB Appendix B: Turning the Corner on Global Warming Emissions: An Analysis of Ten Strategies for California, Oregon, and Washington Acrobat PDF | 2 MB Appendix C: Poised For Profit II: Prospects for the Smart Energy Sector in the Pacific Northwest Acrobat PDF | 194 KB Appendix D: Overview of Climate Change Impacts in the U.S. Pacific Northwest Acrobat PDF | 263 KB Appendix E: Scientific Consensus Statement on the Likely Impacts of Climate Change on the Pacific Northwest Acrobat PDF | 1 MB Appendix F: Emissions pathways, climate change, and impacts on California Acrobat PDF | 485 KB Appendix G: State Work Group Reports Acrobat PDF | 1.2 MB Appendix H: Hearing on Impacts of Climate Change and States' Actions; Testimony of Kenneth A. Colburn Acrobat PDF | 218 KB Appendix I: Setting Global Warming Pollution Reduction Targets Acrobat PDF | 2199 KB Appendix J: West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative Contact List Acrobat PDF | 88 KB 2003 Press Release Statement Of The Governors Of California, Oregon And Washington On Regional Action To Address Global Warming Acrobat PDF | 316 KB

This action was taken as part of the West Coast Governors Global Warming Initiative, one of the leading state-level efforts on global warming in the country. The Governors have concluded that global warming will have serious adverse consequences on the economy, health and environment of the West Coast states; that the states must act individually and regionally to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and that the region can achieve economic benefits from lower dependence on imported fossil fuels and greater investments in clean energy technologies, the growth industries of the future. If the West Coast states were a country, their global warming emissions would rank 7th in the world.

The approved recommendations include:

1. Set new targets for improvement in performance in average annual state fleet greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Collaborate on the purchase of hybrid vehicles.

3. Establish a plan for the deployment of electrification technologies at truck stops in each state on the I-5 corridor, on the outskirts of major urban areas, and on other major interstate routes.

4. Set goals and implement strategies and incentives to increase retail energy sales from renewable resources by one percent or more annually in each state through 2015.

5. Adopt energy efficiency standards for eight to 14 products not regulated by the federal government, establishing a cost-effective efficiency threshold for all products sold on the West Coast.

6. Incorporate aggressive energy efficiency measures into updates of state building energy codes, with a goal of achieving at least 15 percent cumulative savings by 2015 in each state.

7. Organize a West Coast Governors' conference in 2005 to inform policymakers and the public of climate change research concerning the West Coast states.

The Governors also committed to explore the following regional activities going forward:

* Adopt comprehensive state and regional goals for greenhouse gas emissions reductions;
* Adopt standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles;
* Develop a market-based carbon allowance program; and,
* Expand the markets for energy efficiency, renewable resources, and alternative fuels.

These steps are in addition to state-level initiatives that are underway in each state. We invite you to visit some of the states' pages on global warming:

Washington Governor Gary Locke
http://www.governor.wa.gov/globalwarming/globalwarming.htm

Oregon Department of Energy
http://www.energy.state.or.us/climate/Warming/Global.htm

California Energy Commission
http://www.energy.ca.gov/global_climate_change/index.html