B.C. Minister of State for Climate Action John
Yap and Washington Department of Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant
signed agreements on limiting carbon emissions from government
operations and promoting awareness of the impacts of sea level rise
on coastal areas. 

“B.C. has taken decisive action to lower the
province’s greenhouse gas emissions and we continue to see that
same resolve in Washington state,” said Yap. “We share the air, a
coastline vulnerable to a similar range of climate change impacts
and, most importantly, an understanding that immediate strong
actions today can lead to a strong low-carbon economy
tomorrow.”  

”Climate is changing due to
build-up of carbon already in the atmosphere from fossil fuel use
around the world, said Sturdevant.

“We’re already suffering diminished stream
flows, diseased forests, and other natural resource losses that
undermine our quality of life and economic strength. Rising sea
level from shrinking glaciers and ice caps will put coastal
communities and infrastructure at risk. Only with decisive action
to address emissions will we see a moderation of future impacts.
Regional agreements like these we’ve signed today matter because
climate change doesn’t recognize borders and boundaries. It affects
us all.” 

Under the agreements signed today, B.C. and
Washington will:  

• 
  
  Demonstrate how to make government
  operations as carbon-neutral as possible, sharing information and
  drawing on B.C.’s success in achieving a carbon-neutral public
  sector.
  
  
  
  
  
  



• 
  
  Further strengthen engagement with
  Washingtonians and British Columbians about how sea level rise
  threatens critical shoreland areas and communities. Both
  jurisdictions recently asked the public to observe extreme tides
  known as “king tides”. People were asked to submit photos of these
  high tides to show the kind of impacts expected in the future from
  rising ocean levels and tides.
  
  

See submitted href=”/www.env.gov.bc.ca/cas/adaptation/king_tide.html”
target=”_blank”>images of recent high tides in British
Columbia: and recent high tides in href=”/www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/ipa_hightide.htm”
target=”_blank”>Washington.

These new action plans build on existing
climate-related partnerships between Washington and British
Columbia, including: 

• 
  
  The Pacific Coast
  Collaborative, which involves B.C., Washington,
  Oregon, California, and Alaska in joint efforts on energy,
  transportation, climate change, and ocean issues. For example, the
  participants are addressing ocean debris, transportation fuels,
  clean energy, and energy-efficient building standards and best
  practices.
  
  
  
  
  
  



• 
  
  Work under the Washington-British Columbia
  Memorandum of Understanding on Coastal Climate Change Adaptation,
  including joint science workshops, exchanging information on
  sea-level rise projections and mapping, sharing information on
  Green Shores programs, and Washington and B.C. “king tide” photo
  initiatives.
  
  
  
  
  
  



• 
  
  The Salish Sea Ecosystem/Puget Sound-Georgia
  Basin Ecosystem Research Conference is the largest, most
  comprehensive scientific research and policy conference that
  focuses on issues impacting the region known as the Salish Sea.
  British Columbia and Washington take turns hosting the biennial
  conference.
  
  
  
  
  
  



• 
  
  B.C. and Washington state are active
  participants in the Western Climate Initiative, a cooperative
  effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in seven U.S. states and
  four Canadian provinces.
  
  

To find out more about B.C.’s climate actions,
visit target=”_blank”>here. href=”http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/index.htm”
target=”_blank”>Learn more about Washington state actions
here. Here are links to the agreements:
target=”_blank”>www.env.gov.bc.ca/cas/