Madison, Wisc.--(Josh Dorner, Sierra Club) Following a two-day summit on Climate Change and Energy Security hosted by Gov. Jim Doyle (D-WI) and Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), ten Midwestern leaders signed the Midwest Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord. States signing the accord were Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana*, Iowa, Michigan, Kansas, Ohio*, South Dakota*, and the Canadian Province of Manitoba. The accord pledges the states to set emissions reductions targets and timeframes and calls for the establishment of a regional cap-and-trade system. Additionally, North Dakota and Nebraska joined the other nine states in establishing an Energy Security and Climate Stewardship Platform to advance specific goals on energy efficiency, renewables, and biofuels, among other things. (*denotes observer state)
Statement of Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director
"Today the Heartland went from being at the center of America's global warming problem to a region eagerly taking bold, visionary action. Governors from the four corners of the country have already pledged to take dramatic steps to prevent the most catastrophic effects of global warming and we could not be happier that their counterparts from these nine states have now joined them. In the face of federal inaction, half the states, more than a dozen of America's largest counties, and over 700 cities have now stepped up to meet the challenge before us.
"The Midwest is currently the epicenter of the coal rush so it is particularly important that these Midwestern governors move to take aggressive action to reduce global warming pollution. Though we have been successful in slowing the dash to build more coal plants, they could yet derail all efforts to reduce emissions for decades to come. Kansas' recent decision to reject a future wedded to dirty coal sets a strong precedent that we very much hope will be followed by other states in the region. The Midwest stands to gain over 289,000 new manufacturing jobs if it makes a real commitment to renewable energy--a far better deal for the environment and the economy than anything on offer from Big Coal.
"Even as Washington remains locked in a stalemate on energy issues, action on global warming has become a bi-partisan issue in the rest of the country. Having moved past the energy politics of yesterday, these governors understand that the visionary solutions being proposed today mean economic opportunity, good jobs, a clean environment, and a stable climate for future generations. It's time that politicians in Washington learned a few lessons from folks in places like Wausau and Waterloo."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment