June 12, 2007
Manitoba Newest Member Of International Climate Change Initiative
Deadwood, South Dakota – Manitoba Premier Gary Doer announced today that the Province of Manitoba, Canada, has joined with six western U.S. states and the Province of British Columbia in the Western Climate Initiative.
The Western Climate Initiative began in February when the Governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington jointly signed an agreement to establish a regional greenhouse gas reduction goal and develop market-based strategies to achieve the goal. British Columbia joined the initiative in April and Utah joined in May.
Through the initiative, states and provinces will work together to identify, evaluate and implement ways to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region and to achieve related co-benefits. The participants are all members of The Climate Registry, a new cross-border greenhouse gas registry that kicked off last month with 34 state, 2 provincial, and 3 tribal members.
“This kind of agreement illustrates that individual state and provincial governments can take concrete actions to fight climate change in the absence of clear federal leadership,” Doer said.
“Global warming is a challenge that respects no border. Manitoba has a climate change action plan that includes legislating Kyoto targets, setting a made-in-Manitoba vehicle standard, reducing emissions from our larger landfills, enshrining leading-edge green building and fleet vehicle standards and phasing out the last remaining coal-fired generation facility in the province. Today’s agreement will enable us to work with other states and provinces to build on these actions.”
“On behalf of all of my colleagues who have signed the Western Climate Initiative to date, I extend a warm welcome to Manitoba as a signatory to this important project,” said Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona. “The Province of Manitoba is recognized internationally as a leader in fighting the effects of climate change and we look forward to working with the province in addressing the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.”
“I am proud to welcome Manitoba into the Western Climate Initiative,” said Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico. “The rapid growth of this initiative from the original five states to include the state of Utah and the provinces of British Columbia and – now – Manitoba signals that action to address climate change must start now, rather than waiting for federal leadership.”
"I applaud Premier Gary Doer and the Province of Manitoba for joining the Western Climate Initiative. This important initiative is gaining momentum as states and Canadian provinces are signing on to establish a priority and framework to fight climate change, so that our efforts are integrated and effective," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "The Province of Manitoba has a strong partnership with California and is a great leader in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
“As we all work in our own states and provinces to fight climate change, it is clear that the real changes come when we combine our efforts,” said Washington Governor Chris Gregoire. “Together, we can reduce climate pollution, create jobs and move toward energy independence. I welcome Manitoba to the Western Climate Initiative and look forward to collectively working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
"Dealing with climate change will require a co-ordinated approach and the bigger the market we can create, the more effective we will be," said British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell. "We welcome Manitoba’s participation in the Western Climate Initiative as we work to develop a regional cap and trade program, a key element of our joint efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
Also, Wyoming and Colorado recently began participating in the Western Climate Initiative as official observers while they continue to develop their own state policies and initiatives.
“Colorado will be part of the solution to this problem,” said Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado. “As we put together a Colorado strategy, I will thoroughly explore all of the options that are on the table. This process is clearly important, and I appreciate the opportunity to send observers from Colorado to learn more about their proposal.”
Manitoba and B.C. are the first Canadian provinces to join the newly formed Climate Registry. The Climate Registry, announced last month, is the largest cooperative effort in the U.S. on climate change. Thirty-four states, representing over 70 percent of the U.S. population are currently charter members. The goal of the Registry is to act as a mechanism for measuring, tracking, verifying and publicly reporting greenhouse gas emissions accurately, transparently and consistently across borders and industry sectors. This is seen as a critical first step in developing robust programs to reduce emissions across the U.S. and North America.
Some of the specific provisions of the Western Climate Initiative agreement include:
- Setting an overall regional goal by August 2007 to reduce emissions from the province and the states collectively, consistent with state-by-state and provincial goals;
- Participating in a multi-jurisdictional GHG registry to enable tracking, management, and crediting for entities that reduce GHG emissions, consistent with the state/provincial GHG reporting mechanisms and requirements.
- Developing, within 18 months of the effective date of the agreement (i.e., by August 2008), a design for a regional market-based multi-sector mechanism to achieve the regional GHG reduction goal; and
- Promoting greater energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, advocating for national climate policies and identifying measures to adapt to climate change.
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