Environmental Defense Praises Western Governors' Climate Commitment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tony Kreindler, 202-572-3378, 202-210-5791 (Cell)

(Washington – February 26, 2006) Environmental Defense today praised the commitment of five governors to take the lead in fighting climate change by setting a regional cap on greenhouse gas emissions in Western states. The agreement is the latest in a series of major steps by states and business leaders to get emissions caps in place absent federal action.

The governors’ agreement follows efforts already underway in the Northeast, and it comes close on the heels of a landmark deal in Texas to cap emissions from the state’s largest electrical utility.

“State leaders know the dangers of climate change are too big to ignore, and business leaders know that the incentives to act are too big to pass up,” said Environmental Defense President Fred Krupp. “This agreement is yet another sign that the momentum for a hard cap on emissions is growing from coast to coast.”

The agreement signed today commits California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington to a regional target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It mirrors ongoing action in New England and the mid-Atlantic, where states are developing an emissions cap-and-trade system through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

In Texas, Environmental Defense today announced that the Texas Pacific Group’s buyout of the state’s largest electric utility will contain several key environmental commitments, including support for a national emissions cap and the goals of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of leading U.S. companies and environmental groups that is urging Congress to take quick action on national cap-and-trade legislation.