The state government of Washington will form a task force to reduce carbon emissions and take significant steps to cut back on fossil fuel usage, thanks to an executive order signed by the governor on Tuesday. The order provides a road map for coordinating environmental action across state agencies and mandates the development of more climate-friendly practices.
“This is the right time to act, the right place to act and we are the right people to act,” said Inslee during a speech Tuesday. “We will engage the right people, consider the right options, ask the right questions and come to the right answers — answers that work for Washington.”
Washington has had its own set of emission reduction targets since 2008, when the legislature passed a law mandating that the state cut emissions to 50% of 1990 levels. According to the governor’s office, this week’s executive order will help the state meet those targets.
The Pacific Northwest is known to be a hotbed of environmental activism. Seattle, Washington’s largest city, adopted its own plan for battling climate change last year. The government of Eugene, Ore. has also adopted an ambitious plan to cut its city-wide fuel consumption by 50% before 2030 and make all city facilities carbon neutral within the next six years.
Ned Resnikoff is an urban policy analyst, researcher, writer, and editor. His byline has appeared in a variety of publications, including the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Dissent, and The Nation. He writes the newsletter Public Comment, which can be found at publiccomment.blog.