Oregon Public Broadcasting

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is trying to resurrect her proposal for a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gases.

The Democratic Governor told lawmakers Tuesday she’s “not satisfied” with the stripped-down bill that’s moving through the legislature. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports.

Gregoire appeared before the House Ecology and Parks Committee. She urged the members to pass a much stronger bill than came out of the Senate.

Specifically, the Governor wants to reinstate mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions from polluting industries. But she’s willing to wait on the market system for trading pollution allowances for companies that can’t meet the cap.

Chris Gregoire: “I don’t see an appetite right now to do trade, but that doesn’t mean we can’t move forward on cap. Put those businesses and industry sectors on notice of what they have to do to achieve the levels that we want to attain by 2020."

Washington has a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

Gregoire says Washington should lead on the issue of cap-and-trade so that it can influence how a federal system is set up. Republicans in the legislature say cap-and-trade is a job killer.

Washington, Oregon, and California are part of the Western Climate Initiative – a U.S./Canadian joint effort to gradually reduce carbon emissions.