Gov. Gregoire co-hosts global climate summit

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2009

LOS ANGELES � Gov. Chris Gregoire today welcomed attendees to this year�s Governors� Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles. The summit brings together governors and local government leaders from around the world to develop strategies that will grow a clean energy economy, increase the use of sustainable clean energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on foreign oil. Strategies developed at the summit will be taken to the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark.

�States continue to be innovators in developing a clean energy economy and supporting high- quality jobs,� Gregoire said. �We are seeing success stories across the United States and around the world. Climate change is a global problem, and it is encouraging that our nations are working together to find a global solution.�

As co-host of the summit, Gregoire led a panel discussion this morning on transportation and mobility solutions, and will lead a session focusing on adapting to climate change. Several members of the Obama administration will attend this year�s summit, including Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, who will discuss national initiatives to combat climate change.

Gregoire has been a leader in addressing climate change. In May, she signed an executive order directing state actions to reduce climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions, increase transportation and fuel-conservation options for Washingtonians, and protect our state�s water supplies and vulnerable coastal areas. She recently testified in front of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency panel in Seattle on the EPA�s finding that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. Gregoire is also a founding member of the Western Climate Initiative, a regional market-based climate program that reduces global warming pollution to promote a thriving economy and protect public health.