Washington Governor Gregoire Issues Climate Change Executive Order

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire opened an EPA climate change hearing in Seattle today by announcing that she was issuing an executive order addressing Washington’s greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. The order, titled Washington's Leadership on Climate Change (E.O. 09-05), includes directives by the Governor to the Washington Department of Ecology and other state agencies to:

• Continue to participate in the development of the Western Climate Initiative regional GHG reduction program, and work with EPA, other federal agencies, and Washington’s congressional delegation to support the design of a federal cap-and-trade system that reflects Washington’s forest industry and hydroelectric resources, early efforts to reduce GHG emissions, and protects Washington jobs.
• Provide each facility in the state that is estimated to emit more than 25,000 metric tons of GHG annually with: (1) an estimated baseline of the facility’s GHG emissions; and (2) the facility’s share of emission reductions needed to achieve the State’s 2020 emission targets.[1] The Executive Order also requests that covered facilities recommend strategies for achieving the required emissions reductions.
• Develop emission benchmarks, by industry sector, for facilities that will be covered under a federal or regional cap-and-trade program; support the use of these benchmarks as the basis for distributing emission allowances; and work with the owner of the state’s largest coal-fired power plant to reduce GHG emissions from that facility.
• Develop recommendations for forest offset protocols and other financial incentives for forestry and forest product companies.
• Evaluate whether California’s or other low-carbon fuel standards are appropriate for achieving Washington’s GHG reduction targets. The Order also directs Ecology to evaluate the impact of low- or no-emission vehicles on the State’s vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction goals; adopt regional transportation plans that will reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector; and work with other western states to secure funding to electrify the West Coast interstate highway system.
• Evaluate potential impacts of rising sea levels on Washington’s shoreline areas, and develop guidelines and tools to address anticipated changes in water resources associated with climate change.

Finally, the Order directs the Ecology, in cooperation with other state agencies, to prepare a progress report to the Governor by December 31, 2010.

For more information on climate change law, policies and regulation, please contact Svend Brandt-Erichsen, Dustin Till, or any member of Marten Law Group’s Climate Change practice group.