News Releases
Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 8, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke Announces Strategy to Combat Global Warming

Gov. Gary Locke today announced a series of recommendations to combat global warming.

Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle; state Department of Ecology (Ecology) Director Linda Hoffman; state Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Secretary Doug MacDonald; state Department of General Administration (GA) Director Rob Fukai; Dennis McLarren, executive director, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency; KC Golden from Climate Solutions; Mike Tracy from Puget Sound Energy and Jim Harding from Seattle City Light were also present during the announcement.

“Global warming is a problem for our environment, our health, agriculture, and our economy, but remedies are available to us today,” Locke said. “The impacts from global warming can be devastating to our coastline, our public facilities, our agricultural economy and to our environment. We must take action now to reduce or avoid these consequences for future generations.”

Locke proposed a package of executive request legislation that includes:

· Adopting the California vehicle emissions standards for new cars beginning with the 2009 model year to not only reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, but also other harmful pollutants;

· An energy portfolio bill that will include both renewable and energy-efficiency portfolio requirements for utilities;

· Adopting greenhouse-gas reduction goals for our state and establishing a greenhouse-gas emission registry and market development strategies; and

· Establishing state energy efficiency standards for 13 products.

In September 2003, Locke joined forces with the governors of Oregon and California to form the West Coast Governors’ Global Warming Initiative. The tri-state report on the first year of the initiative, which includes the full list of recommendations, is available online at http://www.governor.wa.gov/globalwarming/wcggwi1104report.pdf.

In response to these recommendations, Locke announced the proposed executive request legislation, which Murray and Sen. Erik Poulsen, D-Seattle, will sponsor through the 2005 legislative session.

“Air pollution does not just come from industry smokestacks. More than half of air pollution comes from cars – in fact, 55 percent of all air pollution,” said Murray. “So if we want cleaner, healthier air, this reform is a proven winner.”

In addition to the legislative proposals Locke said he will issue an executive order directing state agencies to take action to further the use of fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles, including hybrid gas and electric vehicles and freeze the purchase of four-wheel drive sport utility vehicles by state agencies, unless they are low-emission vehicles or for law enforcement or emergency response use.

“We believe transportation in Washington state should improve the environment, not harm it,” said MacDonald. “Enacting stringent emission standards for cars will lead to reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from our state. This is a critical step for our legislature to take for the sake of transportation and for the environment.”

“Revamping the way the state manages its fleet of motor vehicles offers tremendous rewards for the environment and the budget,” said Fukai. “Improved business practices can trim overall operating costs, allowing us to get rid of gas guzzlers and put low-emission vehicles in the fleet. This leads to much less pollution.”

Locke also directed the state Department of Ecology to amend current rules to exempt vehicles from emissions testing that meet the ultra-clean emission standards under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California law.

“This means that people who make eco-friendly car-buying decisions won’t have to sit in line for emission tests,” said Hoffman. “They can do their part for cleaner air and save time, too.”

Vehicle Emissions Standards
Locke proposed that Washington state adopt the California vehicle emission standards for new cars beginning with the 2009 model year to address the single largest contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions, the transportation sector.

Locke recognized the challenges of the auto industry and noted that any steps to address vehicle emissions are most effective when taken in concert with other states, building markets for new vehicles while also providing certainty for the auto manufacturers.

By adopting the California standards Washington can reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by five percent by the year 2020 and drive the market forces shaping the auto industry.

Other states that have adopted California’s more stringent standards include: Connecticut; Maine; Massachusetts; New Jersey; New York; Rhode Island; and Vermont. Canada also has announced the possibility of adopting these standards.

Energy Portfolio Bill
The Northwest has a reputation of delivering affordable electricity service powered by renewable energy (historically hydropower) and energy efficiency. Since the 2001 legislative session, the governor has worked with stakeholders and legislators to determine the best method by which electric utilities can plan for and expand the renewable energy base and substantially improve electricity efficiency.

Locke’s executive request legislation will require utilities to develop integrated resource plans that will include not only renewable resources, but also improvements in the efficient use of electricity.

Emission Goals and Market Development
In October, Locke called for establishing a goal for Washington to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to the 1990 level by the year 2010, and going 10 percent below that by 2020. Locke proposed legislation to have the state formally adopt these goals and to establish a greenhouse-gas emission registry by the end of 2006.

The registry will help the state better understand the various sources of greenhouse-gas emissions and will help form the foundation for an economically efficient cap-and-trade system for reducing of emissions – a system that uses market forces to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Energy Efficiency Standards
With the number of products that require electricity seems to grow every year, Locke’s legislation urges the state to adopt standards that will improve the efficiency of 13 products, including ice machines, commercial clothes washers, commercial refrigerators and freezers, and commercial gas unit heaters. These standards will create a savings through 2020 of $425 million.

The U.S. Department of Energy has already adopted cost-effective standards for approximately two-dozen appliances and other electronic equipment. However, there are no minimum standards for the products proposed in the governor’s legislation.

States have express authority to adopt efficiency standards for products not covered under federal law and California has adopted standards for the same 13 products that are similar to those that Locke is proposing.

Standardizing regulations and creating a consistent marketplace for manufacturers and distributors can enhance market opportunity by adopting common standards throughout the region.

State Vehicles Executive Order
Locke will issue an executive order to state agencies that builds upon his previous sustainability executive order, requiring agencies to give priority to the purchase and use of hybrid and other fuel-efficient/low-emission vehicles.

The executive order will place a freeze on state agency purchases of any four-wheel-drive sport utility vehicle, except for law enforcement or emergency response purposes.

This order will require state motor pool fleet management to improve vehicle maintenance and operation to reduce emissions and, coupled with life cycle costs of ownership, generate savings and efficiencies to help mitigate the higher initial purchase costs of hybrid and other new fuel-efficient/low-emission vehicles.


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