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Doyle, other governors vow to reduce emissions

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Also by Kevin Bargnes:

Doyle wants legislators in session (December 10, 2007)
Residents will vote on City, Town of Verona merger (December 10, 2007)
Doyle to beef up agriculture funds (December 3, 2007)
Governor announces state BadgerCare approval (November 29, 2007)
Doyle, other governors vow to reduce emissions (November 19, 2007)

by Kevin Bargnes

Monday, November 19, 2007

Gov. Jim Doyle, along with nine other Midwest leaders, signed the Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord at a summit for the Midwestern Governors Association last week in an effort to stop global climate change.

The accord outlines a plan for nine states and one Canadian province to establish and promote greenhouse gas reduction.

The leaders plan to reduce greenhouse gases by numbers consistent with the 60 to 80 percent recommended by former Vice President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in their Nobel Prize winning reports, according to a Thursday release from the governor's office.

"Governor Doyle led the effort to bring the Midwest leaders together to sign this historic agreement because global warming poses a grave long-term challenges for our economy and our environment," said Matt Canter, spokesperson for Doyle. "The Midwest has the opportunity to lead the way in reducing pollution that causes global warming."

Support for the accord came from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and South Dakota as well as Manitoba, Canada.

Canter also said the accord will create thousands of new jobs in the Midwest. Liz Boyd, spokesperson for Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said the accord would help improve Michigan's economy.

"For Michigan, it's all about jobs," Boyd said. "We see the energy issue and global warming and the potential for alternative energies as a job creator for the state of Michigan."

Indiana, Ohio and South Dakota signed the accord as observers in order to participate in the cap-and-trade system, another key component to the accord.

The cap-and-trade system, the release said, would limit emissions by companies, but allow those companies to sell allowed emissions they don't use to others in need of more emissions. It will essentially create a marketplace for emissions while keeping the overall levels the same.

Canter said the accord should be fully implemented by 2010.

Officials from Nebraska and North Dakota were present at the summit as well, but did not sign the accord. However, the two states did adopt the Energy Security and Climate Stewardship Platform along with their Midwestern counterparts.

The platform will allow leaders to promote regional initiatives to develop renewable energy sources in order to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

"Our strong manufacturing base and rich agricultural industries, along with the wealth of resources in our vast northern forests and our world-leading research universities, position the Midwest to become the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy," Doyle said in a release.

Some states, including Wisconsin, are also starting to come up with their own plans. Boyd said last week Granholm created a council to decide on a climate change plan for the state of Michigan.

According to Canter, by 2025 Doyle expects Wisconsin to get 25 percent of its electrical power and 25 percent of its transportation fuel from renewable resources.

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