Climate of Our Future

Climate Crisis Coalition

Six Western States and Two Canadian Provinces Announce Regional Climate Pact. By Margot Roosevelt, The Los Angeles Times, August 23, 2007. “Stepping in where the Bush administration has refused to tread, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and five other Western governors, joined by two Canadian provincial leaders, pledged Wednesday to enforce a tough regional cap on greenhouse gas emissions. Under the Western Climate Initiative, the leaders agreed to slash emissions of carbon dioxide and other climate-warming pollutants to 15% below 2005 levels in their states and provinces in the next 13 years. That is about the same percentage as California’s commitment under last year’s landmark global warming law. Overall, the region would cut emissions by 350-million metric tons over that time period… The states that have signed up are Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Utah. Canadian provinces British Columbia and Manitoba have also joined the effort. Several states and provinces are official ‘observers,’ still considering whether to commit to the initiative’s stringent goals. They include: Colorado; Kansas; Nevada; Wyoming; Ontario and Quebec, Canada; and Sonora, Mexico.”