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There is growing interest in the United States in state-level actions to address the effects of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Many states have prepared a state climate action plan after having completed stakeholder processes similar to what Arizona has done, and these processes have led to new policies being proposed or adopted. Typically, the policies serve multiple aims such as improving air quality, reducing traffic congestion, securing reliable energy supplies, preserving land, or improving waste management, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Examples of state action plans include:
Regional Initiatives
The Climate Registry
On May 8, 2007, Arizona joined with 30 other states representing 70 percent of the nation's population to form The Climate Registry, the largest national effort to date taking action on climate change. The Climate Registry provides an accurate, consistent way to measure, track, verify and publicly report greenhouse gas emissions across borders and industry sectors.
Western Climate Initiative
On Feb. 26, 2007, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and the Governors of California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington signed an agreement to create the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative (now known as the Western Climate Initiative (WCI). The purpose of the Initiative is to set a regional goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions among these five states and establish a market-based mechanism, such as a cap and trade program, for achieving the goal.
WCI Members Set Regional Target
On Aug. 22, 2007, the eight states and Canadian provinces comprising the Western Climate Initiative (Utah, British Columbia and Manitoba have joined the original five WCI members) announced the establishment of a regional goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the West to 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
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