Transcript West Coast Governors` Global Warming Initiative

West Coast
Global Warming Initiative
West Coast Governors’ Global Warming Initiative
Oregon, Washington, California
 Start: Governors’ Directive, Sep 22, 2003
 Process: Executive Committee, Working Groups
 Complete: Staff recommendations, Nov 2004
Report at: http://www.ef.org/westcoastclimate/
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West Coast Governors’ Global Warming Initiative
Mission
To work regionally and within
each state to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions below current levels.
World’s Top 10 CO2 Emitters:
United States
China
Russia
Japan
India
Germany
Canada
UK
West Coast States
Italy
South Korea
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Share of World CO2 Emissions (2000)
Sources: UCS, EIA, EPA, CEC, NESCAUM
25%
800
MMTCE CO2
States are players
Top 50 Global GHG Emitters
Glo bal GHG Emis s io ns
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
600
400
200
0
UT
WY
Aus tria
MS
AR
MA
KS
MD
IO
SC
CO
AZ
WA
MN
OK
WI
Be lgium
VA
WV
NJ
TN
MS
AL
KY
NC
AOS IS **
GA
Ne the rla nds
Ne w Engla nd
LA
MI
IL
IN
FL
NY
PA
OH
Aus tra lia
CA
Fra nce
Me xico
Ita ly
Ca na da
Unite d Kingdo
TX
Ge rma ny
India
J a pa n
Rus s ia n Fe de
China
US
West Coast Governors’ Global
Warming Initiative
 Started in Sept. 2003 by Govs Locke,
Kulongoski and Davis.
 Schwarzenegger supports.
West Coast Governors’ Global Warming Initiative
The Benefits of Acting
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Energy dollars stay at home, not exported
Hedge against oil and nat gas price spikes
Potentially lower energy costs.
Clean energy can stimulate economic
development
Opportunities for leadership in energy tech.
Env benefits, esp: water supply, snowpack.
Reduce potential of significant health costs.
Directed staff to develop joint policy
recommendations on:
 Fuel-efficient vehicles for motor pool fleets.
 Reduce diesel emissions from trucks and marine vessels.
 Remove barriers to development of renewable electricity generation
resources and technologies.
 Improve efficiency standards of appliances and products.
 Develop ghg emission inventories and reporting protocols and
collaborate on scientific tools to measure the impact of climate change.
Gov. Schwarzenegger asked for the addition
of the issue hydrogen vehicles.
The recommendations from staff
included:
 Set new targets for improvement in performance in
average annual state fleet ghg emissions.
 Collaborate on the purchase of hybrid vehicles.
 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.
 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.
Staff Recommendations – cont.
 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.
 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.
 Organize a West Coast Governors’ conference in 2005 to
inform policy makers and the public of climate change
research concerning the West Coast states.
The staff also recommended that the Governors
should give consideration to four additional actions:
 Adopt comprehensive state and regional goals for
greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
 Adopt standards to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from vehicles.
 Develop a regional market-based carbon
allowance program.
 Expand the markets for efficiency, renewable
energy, and alternative fuels.
Defining “Planning for Climate Change”
 Planning for climate change involves developing
the capacity to effectively manage the impacts of
climate variability and change (i.e., developing
adaptive capacity).
 Planning strives to minimize the negative impacts
associated with projected climate change (e.g.,
increased winter flooding) while maximizing the
positive impacts (e.g., increased storage capacity)
Courtesy UW Climate Group, Palmer-Whitely
What is the Role of Local Govt in Planning for
Climate Change?
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Climate change is a global scale issue, but the
impacts are local. Many local resource-based
planning activities potentially affected by climate
change
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Local govts have significant impact on long-term
community development and hazard mitigation; can
influence degree of vulnerability to impacts
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Policy innovation most often occurs at the state and
local level. Planning allows for innovation rather than
waiting for prescriptive fixes.
Examples of Planning Opportunities:
Water Quantity Allocations.
 Watershed Planning.
 Land Use Planning – Flood Zones and
Shorelines.
 Transportation Planning.
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Monday, August 15, 2005
New sea wall may fall short as water rises, report says
Global warming and rising water levels could force Seattle to build its new Elliott Bay sea
wall higher than expected. Could its cost also exceed the current $500 million estimate?
A Seattle Transportation Department official said probably not, but a city auditor's report
released last week raises the question. It suggests that a new sea wall might have to be
built higher to accommodate rising sea levels and coastal flooding caused by climate
change.
"Design standards for the Alaskan Way sea wall replacement appropriately recognize
that sea level will increase during the 21st century," the report said.
"However, sea-level projections from the University of Washington Climate Impacts
Group suggest that the city's current design standards for the new sea wall may not
adequately account for the potential projected rise in sea level.“
A city consultant said the design of the replacement for the 1.9-mile wall "should
accommodate a 0.9-foot rise in sea level over a 75-year period," while the UW group
estimated the rise would be 1 foot to 2.8 feet.
Next Steps
 Two Scientific Conferences:
 September 14-16 in Sacramento
 For more info: www.climatechange.ca.gov/events/2005_conference/index.html
 October 27 in Seattle.
For more info: www.metrokc.gov/climateconference2005
 Focus on science of climate change and how
policy decisions should incorporate scientific
findings.