A great day for the climate: Governor Gregoire joins with President Obama to cut global warming pollution, grow the clean-energy economy

Governor Christine Gregoire signed an executive order that signals Washington state’s commitment to maintain its leadership role growing the clean-energy economy and limiting pollution. The announcement of the executive order immediately followed the Governor’s testimony supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s finding that greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to human health. This finding allows EPA to limit greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.

The Governor’s executive order puts Washington on track to reduce the state’s global warming pollution and accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to a stronger clean energy economy. Specifically, it will:

• start a process to ensure the state will meet the pollution limits adopted by the Legislature in 2008. These actions can be utilized if Congress does not pass comprehensive climate policy in time for the state to meet its 2020 limit;
• provide Washingtonians with cleaner fuels to power our vehicles;
  reduce traffic (and thus emissions) in congested urban areas;
  drastically cut pollution from or phase out operations of Washington’s one major coal plant;
  
• and keep the state engaged in the Western Climate Initiative, a regional program to reduce global warming pollution, while actively supporting federal programs to reduce pollution.
  

The executive order requires the state to seek to reach an agreement for Washington’s only coal-fired electricity generating plant -- the TransAlta facility in Centralia – that will require it to comply with the state emissions performance standard usually reserved for new power plants no later than 2025, resulting in at least 50% emissions reductions from the plant.

TransAlta is the largest single source of global warming pollution in the state, accounting for 11 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Advocates encourage the state to work with the company and the people of Lewis County to accomplish the change sooner than 2025.

The order also directs the Washington State Department of Transportation to work with regional transportation planning organizations in the state’s seven most urban areas to expand public transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects, and commute trip reduction programs, implementing benchmarks the legislature established in 2008.