Arizona’s Republican Governor Jan Brewer issued an executive order last week declaring that the state will not participate in the cap-and-trade system planned by the Western Climate Initiative (WCI).
Brewer does not plan to pull the state out of the organization, The Arizona Republic reported last Thursday. However, the cap-and-trade system–planned to go into effect in 2012–is the primary initiative for reducing greenhouse gas emissions within WCI.
Brewer said mandatory emissions limits would hurt Arizona’s economy–the same argument offered by conservatives in Washington who oppose a nationwide system.
The WCI was launched in February of 2007, when governors from Arizona, New Mexico, California, Oregon and Washington decided regional strategies needed to be developed in order to address climate change.
Brewer reportedly wants the state to focus on clean energy and growth to recover from economic recession.
The move was not completely unexpected. Last year the Arizona House of Representatives Committee on Environment voted in favor of prohibiting the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) from continuing to participate in the Western Climate Initiative (WCI).
Environmental groups are criticizing the decision as a step backwards. Sandra Bahr, director of the Sierra Club’s chapter in Phoenix, told the New York Times: “It’s ridiculous and sad and embarrassing all in one… Arizona is one of the parts of the country that’s going to suffer the most. Hotter and drier–that’s not what we need.”
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