West Coast States and Cities Sign Environmental Agreement

A major agreement on the environment and clean energy was signed Wednesday in San Francisco.

The governors of Oregon, Washington, and California, along with the majors of Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Oakland, and Vancouver, and the environmental minister of British Columbia signed the agreement on behalf of the 53 million residents of their areas.

The "state-cities" agreement is part of an effort "to move the region's clean energy economy forward."

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According to a release, the agreement will:

1. implement energy data reporting and benchmarking for at least 75 percent of eligible large building square footage;

2. expand consumer, municipal, utility and private sector adoption of zero-emission vehicles and development of Pacific Coast electric vehicle charging network from Southern California to British Columbia;

3. accelerate the deployment of distributed community-scale renewable energy, integrated into the gird, including lowering the carbon intensity of heating fuels in commercial and residential buildings; and

4, reduce carbon emissions from the food waste stream by preventing and recovering organic waste and promoting composting.

"We are creating a ‘green wall’ along the West Coast," said Portland Mayor Charlie Hales. "Our cities are committed to growing with sustainable values. In Portland, that includes opposing all new fossil fuel infrastructure; doubling the amount of solar on City facilities; and more. Neighboring cities are doing the same.

"When we act in collaboration, cities have an outsized impact. Working together, the West Coast will help move the meter on climate change.”