Gov. Gregoire announces bill to fight climate change, create jobs

SEATTLE -- Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday proposed legislation to direct the state Department of Ecology to design a regional cap and trade market for carbon emissions, require annual emissions reporting by all major generators of greenhouse gases, and create training programs for "green collar jobs."
The bill, which Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, intends to introduce, will focus on creating new policies; the actual programs probably won't arrive until 2009, Gregoire told a news conference.

Gregoire said the past 45 days, which have included floods and a tornado in Washington, have been a wake up call for her and the state: "This is mother nature's way of saying to us: Take notice. Take action."

A transformation of the environment and the economy is already happening - much like the way life changed when people gave up horses and started driving cars - and the state needs to decide how to respond, Dunshee said.

"Do we take care of it ... or do we sit on our hands and let it happen to us?" he asked.
Most of the action on this issue will take place during the 2009 Legislature, but Dunshee said some things could happen during the next two months while the 2008 Legislature meets.

South Seattle Community College has sent him a proposal, for example, for a new training program in environment-related trades like installing solar panels or programming street lamps. If that proposal is ready to go, it could get money right away, he said.

Gregoire said plans for a regional cap and trade market for carbon emissions are being discussed by representatives of seven Western states plus the Western Canadian provinces, but the long-range plan is for a national, not a regional solution to climate change.

She said she was looking forward to bringing the regional plan to the next president as soon as he or she takes office to "tell them how it's done."

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels promised the state of Washington would drag the nation "kicking and screaming" toward doing the right thing about climate change. Nickels has led 772 mayors to sign up their cities to voluntarily follow the greenhouse-gas-limiting Kyoto Treaty, which was not signed by the federal government.

King County Executive Ron Sims complimented the governor for working with his county, the city of Seattle and local businesses on this initiative.
"I have been in office for 22 years. ... This is the first governor who wanted to partner with local governments and businesses to get things done," Sims said.

The news conference was in the South Seattle offices of McKinstry Co., a mechanical construction and engineering firm Gregoire said has demonstrated how to make money and create jobs in the green economy.
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On the Net:
State office of climate change: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/index.htm
Legislature: http://www.leg.wa.gov/
Gov.: http://www.governor.wa.gov/
McKinstry Co.: http://www.mckinstry.com/