Broad-based committee recommends cleaner cars, energy efficiency, other immediate strategies to protect public health, global climate

 

Jan. 13, 2005 — “Begin now, and begin with determination.”

That’s the direction from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s Climate Protection Advisory Committee (CPAC) in its report released this week.

“The CPAC believes that global warming is occurring, is largely triggered by human actions, and that human-induced greenhouse gas emissions must be sufficiently reduced to achieve climate stabilization,” says the report, which is available at http://www.pscleanair.org/programs/climate/default.aspx.

The 25-member committee, which included representatives from business, environmental groups, utilities and government agencies (list attached), met regularly throughout 2004 at the request of the Clean Air Agency’s board of directors to explore the impacts of climate change for the Puget Sound region and to provide direction to the agency and the region on climate protection strategies.

Based on their recommendations, the Clean Air Agency, the non-profit organization Climate Solutions, Rep. Ed Murray, Sen. Phil Rockefeller and others are promoting legislation this session that would reduce global warming and toxics emissions from cars and light trucks, including SUVs, sold in Washington starting in 2009.

That specific strategy was included in the first of the committee’s priority recommendations:

• Maximize energy efficiency and increase renewable energy in the region’s power mix.
• Reduce motor vehicle miles traveled.
• Protect natural landscapes and forest biomass.
• Develop and adopt a climate change policy framework.
• Promote public education and citizen/corporate/government action.
• Encourage local government to act.

Under the energy-efficiency priority, the committee recommended reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of new vehicles sold by asking the legislature to adopt the California Motor Vehicles standards, which will require stricter emission standards for new cars sold in Washington and by urging the federal government to require better fuel economy for vehicles nationwide.

“In addition to the benefits for public health and climate protection, these cleaner vehicles will provide significant consumer savings,” said Dennis McLerran, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s Executive Director. “The California Air Resources Board calculates the fuel savings for the typical car buyer at about $11 per month. While the average car will cost about $325 more, the savings over the life of the vehicle can be more than $2,000.”

The committee also reported that technical analyses indicate that implementing all of their priority recommendations would result in a $1.4 billion to $2 billion boost to the region’s economy over the next 15 years and a reduction of regional greenhouse gas emissions back to 1990 levels. The majority of the savings would be from greater motor vehicle fuel efficiency and from increased use of renewable energy.

“People put in a year of effort with us, through many meetings and long hours,” McLerran said. “They made sure the economic and technical analysis was accurate and helped us produce a truly remarkable product that is useful for us, for other agencies and organizations and for the state.”

The committee was co-chaired by Wayne Grotheer, Director, Health Environmental & Risk Services for the Port of Seattle, and Jake Fey, Director of the Washington State University Energy Program.

"There was a remarkable degree of consensus, given the range of government, business, and public interest group views represented,” Grotheer said. “There is much work to be done on climate change, and the committee’s recommendations set out important first steps."

"This was an extensive effort by a diverse group of stakeholders to reach common recommendations on actions to reduce global warming emissions. I am looking forward to meeting with the Clean Air Agency board to get its reaction to our recommendations," said Fey, who will participate in a presentation to the agency’s board of directors on Jan. 27.

Four technical work groups representing each of the major sectors that emit global warming pollution – Energy Supply; Buildings and Facilities; Transportation; and Agriculture, Forestry and Solid Waste – also spent a significant amount of time providing technical and economic analysis and support. The work groups included committee members plus representatives from Tacoma Power, the Transportation Choices Coalition, Prometheus Energy Company and others.

At the request of former Gov. Gary Locke, the committee also offered recommendations for statewide action to inform the State of Washington’s participation in the West Coast Governor’s Global Warming Initiative.

Climate Protection Advisory Committee

Rod Brandon, King County Executive’s Office
Karin Bulova, Snohomish County PUD
John Cabaniss, Association of International Automobile Manufacturers
Kim Drury, City of Seattle
Gene Duvernoy, Cascade Land Conservancy
Jake Fey, WSU Cooperative Extension Energy Program
Stephen Gerritson, Commuter Challenge
David Goldberg, Mithun Architects + Designers + Planners
KC Golden, Climate Solutions
Wayne Grotheer, Port of Seattle
Frank Holmes, Western States Petroleum Association
Ken Johnson, Weyerhaeuser Company
Diana Gale, Cascade Center for Public Service
Bill Kidd, BP
Chuck Kleeburg, Pierce County Planning and Land Services
Bill LaBorde, NW Energy Coalition
Kelly McGourty, Puget Sound Regional Council
Dave Moore, The Boeing Company
Stan Price, NW Energy Efficiency Council
Carol Jolly, Washington State Governor’s Office
Robert Pregulman, Washington PIRG
Roby Roberts, PPM Energy Inc.
Steve Secrist, Puget Sound Energy
Gary Smith, Small Business Owner
Lucy Steers, League of Women Voters, Growth Management Chair