Washington Governor Signs Climate Change Bill
On March 13, 2008, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law House 2815, the Climate Change Framework/Green-Collar Jobs Act. The bill calls for reductions from the state’s transportation sector, Washington’s largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, by cutting vehicle miles traveled by 18 percent by 2020, 30 percent by 2035, and 50 percent by 2050. The bill directs state agencies to provide training and incentives in an effort to attract green-collar jobs to Washington. It also requires the state’s largest emitters to inventory and report their emissions beginning in 2010, and directs relevant state agencies to continue working regionally with other Western states and Canadian provinces to design and implement a market-based system to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from major sectors of the economy. Statewide targets adopted in 2007 require a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, 25 below 1990 levels by 2035, and 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. This new bill directs the Department of Ecology to submit a comprehensive plan to the legislature, outlining specific measures to reach these targets, and to provide an update on Washington’s ongoing participation in the Western Climate Initiative multisector cap-and-trade design process.