(L-R): British Columbia Minister of Environment Mary Polak, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and California Governor Jerry Brown.  Photo courtesy of Gov. Brown’s office.

(L-R): British Columbia Minister of Environment Mary Polak, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and California Governor Jerry Brown. Photo courtesy of Gov. Brown’s office.

 

A group consisting of the governors of Oregon, Washington and California, as well as British Columbia Environmental Minister Mary Polak, recently signed a climate change agreement that will require the support of state legislatures moving forward.

While California and British Columbia already have aggressive carbon emission reduction programs in place, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and Washington Governor Jay Inslee may have more work on their hands when it comes to creating similar programs in their respective states. This past July, a bill was rejected by Oregon’s state senate that would have repealed the sunset on provisions related to low carbon fuel standards.

The agreement signed by the group called for the regions to lead national, as well as international, climate change policy, align 2050 greenhouse gas reduction targets, utilize proven scientific evidence to educate state and local governments on the need to reduce emissions, and press for an international climate change agreement in 2015.

 

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