Report Says Green Jobs Will Lead New Economy
A new report released by Washington State's Department of Ecology (Ecology) shows how creating new "green" jobs will keep the state at the forefront of building a clean, green economy.
Gov. Chris Gregoire required the report, "Growing Washington's Economy in a Carbon-Constrained World," in her requested climate change legislation, HB 2815. The 2008 Washington Legislature approved the bill, and she signed it into law.
"This report is our blueprint for continuing to build the new, clean, green economy," said Jay Manning, director of the Washington Department of Ecology. "We will reduce our emissions of planet-warming pollution and, in the process, develop new technologies that create clean energy and new jobs while reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The plan describes changes we will make to transition to a green economy, shrink our carbon footprint, and do our part to stabilize the climate."
Ecology and CTED led the report's creation. The report also includes the work of the departments of Transportation, Natural Resources and Agriculture; the Western Climate Initiative; the many business and environmental interests, tribal, local, and state governments, and others who made up the state's Climate Action Team; and other statewide groups that examined forestry, agriculture, and land use.
Read the report at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/2008CompPlan.htm.