Midwestern Governors Announce Emissions Reduction Agreement
On November 15, 2007, six states and one Canadian Province established the Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord. Under the Accord, members agree to establish regional greenhouse gas reduction targets, including a long-term target of 60 to 80 percent below current emissions levels, and develop a multi-sector cap-and-trade system to help meet the targets. Participants will also establish a greenhouse gas emissions reductions tracking system and implement other policies, such as low-carbon fuel standards, to aid in reducing emissions. The Governors of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, as well as the Premier of the Canadian Province of Manitoba, signed the Accord as full participants; the Governors of Indiana, Ohio, and South Dakota joined the agreement as observers to participate in the development of the cap and trade system. The Accord represents the first Midwestern regional agreement among U.S. states to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and will be fully implemented within 30 months.
The agreement was announced at the end of the two-day MGA Energy Security and Climate Change Summit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during which representatives from the Midwestern states – including the nine states mentioned above, as well as Nebraska and North Dakota – discussed the various low-carbon energy options available in their region. In addition to the Midwest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord signed by six states and Manitoba, eight members of the MGA signed the Energy Security and Climate Stewardship Platform. The Platform lists goals for energy efficiency improvements, low-carbon transportation fuel availability, renewable electricity production, and carbon capture and storage development. Member states also signed six additional resolutions. These measures establish a Carbon Management Infrastructure Partnership, a Midwestern Biobased Product Procurement System, coordination across the region for biofuels development, and a working group to pursue a collaborative, multi-jurisdictional transmission initiative.