The members of the Pacific Coast Collaborative—an international governmental agency formed by the three U.S. states and the Canadian province in 2008—are facing droughts, excessive heat, and smoke from large wildfires, their leaders said. By signing a new statement of cooperation, they planned for a more aggressive transition to low-carbon emissions, investments in electric vehicle charging stations along interstate highways, and a clean electric grid.
Newsom said his push to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy is about economics and competition in the energy sector, especially in light of rising gasoline prices.
“This is not about electric power,” Newsom said. “This is about economic power. This is about dominating the next big global industry.”
The electric vehicle industry is a trillion-dollar industry and opportunity, Newsom asserted.
Meanwhile, California drivers have seen record gas-price increases this year and were asked last month to cut back on their electricity use when the state struggled to keep the lights on during a prolonged heat wave. Lawmakers also decided this summer to extend the life of the state’s last nuclear power plant to avoid future electricity blackouts.
Fuel prices were expected to continue rising after an announcement Oct. 5 by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)—a group of 23 countries that decides how much crude oil to sell on the world market—that it plans to cut global output by 2 million barrels a day starting in November. California gets more than half of its oil from foreign countries.
Newsom said that’s further evidence of why the West Coast needs to dominate the green energy industry.
“We’re not going to cede that to other jurisdictions, other parts of this country and globe,” Newsom said. “We want to dominate that.”
State Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) called on the governor to immediately withdraw the proposal.
“The only reason why a Special Legislative Session would be warranted would be to suspend the gas tax, reduce the fees and regulations that make California gas so much more expensive, and allow permits to increase production to lower gas prices,” Gallagher said in a letter to Newsom and the Democratic leadership.
Gallagher cited a report saying Californians pay about $2.50 more per gallon than consumers in other states, which he said has reached a new record price, and called for an audit of the state’s gas-tax expenditures.
The Pacific Coast region is home to about 57 million people who generate about $3.5 trillion a year in goods and services. The climate collaborative also represents the cities of Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles.
The leaders met to sign the agreement at San Francisco’s Presidio Tunnel Tops, a new park at a former military base overlooking the bay.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the climate agenda is the best economic development strategy and would put people to work building lithium-silicon batteries for renewable energy storage, and solar cells, he said.
“We have watched, we have smelled, we have suffered through the smoke,” he said. “We understand what it’s doing to our communities. We understand what it’s doing to the health of our children. We understand its economic disadvantage to our economies.”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, who can’t run for reelection because of term limits, said the coalition can be a pioneer in climate action.
“We absolutely can make change,” she said. “The West Coast, the left coast, the best coast—whatever you want to call us. We can lead the nation.”
Oregon plans to transition to 100 percent clean energy by 2041, which is the most ambitious goal in the nation.
This year’s gubernatorial race in Oregon could decide whether Brown’s policies stay in place. In the latest polls, Republican candidate Christine Drazan, who has promised to roll back some of the mandates, is slightly favored to win. One of her opponents is Democrat Tina Kotek, the state’s House speaker who has played a leading role in passing many of the state’s climate policies.
British Columbia Premier John Horgan said unprecedented fires have wiped out cities while heat waves have profoundly impacted residents.
However, the British Columbia Wildfire Service’s just-issued seasonal report said the region experienced lower-than-average fires and damage in 2022. The service did order some evacuations, but reported no cities severely damaged by wildfires.
“In order to address those challenges, we have to collaborate, we have to work together,” Horgan said.
The province has put in place low-carbon fuel standards and retrofitted buildings with clean energy. The country has also invested in hydroelectricity, he added.
“British Columbia is blessed with an abundance of hydroelectricity that, of course, ravaged complete valleys and displaced populations as they were being built,” Horgan said. “But now, 50 or 60 years later, that clean, green energy is the backbone of all of the alternatives that we’re bringing forward—be it wind, solar, and other technologies.”
The province is happy to share that with the U.S. and the world, Horgan said.
“It’s that innovation, working with people from every corner of the planet, that will get us to where we need to be.”
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