Western Climate Initiative

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The Western Regional Climate Action Initiative. Members Observers

The Western Climate Initiative or WCI, previously known as the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative, is a regional initiative by states and provinces along the western rim of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Indian nations to combat climate change caused by global warming, independent of their national governments. This initiative includes Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Quebec. Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, Wyoming, Ontario, Saskatchewan and the Mexican states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Sonora and Tamaulipas participate as observers.

On 24 April 2007, British Columbia, Canada joined with the five western states, turning the WCRAI into an international partnership [1].

On May 21, 2007, Utah became the 6th state to join the WRCAI when Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. signed the Initiative. [2] Governor Huntsman was the second Republican Governor to join, after California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

On 13 June, 2007, Manitoba said that it would be the second Canadian province to join the WRCAI.[3]

The stated purpose of the WRCAI is to identify, evaluate and implement ways to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region. The initiative requires partners to set an overall regional goal to reduce emissions, develop a market-based, multi-sector mechanism to help achieve that goal, and participate in a cross-border greenhouse gas (GHG) registry.

On 22 August, 2007, the WRCAI set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15% from 2005 levels by 2020 [4]

On 24 September 2007, the state of Alaska joined the WRCAI as an observer.[5] On 19 November, the Governor of Montana announced that that state would also join. [6]