Paris talks and local efforts

Negotiators from more than 190 countries on Saturday approved a far-reaching agreement to slow the emission of greenhouse gases and the advancement of climate change.

Regardless of whether the pact is ultimately ratified by those nations, and what it will spell out in the responsibilities for the United States, other industrialized nations and developing nations, the Paris treaty has only a snowball’s chance in the U.S. Senate chambers to win that body’s ratification.

Which leaves the job to us. What gets done on a statewide, local and a personal level may have a greater impact in helping the world and our communities avoid the harshest effects of climate change. Efforts already are under way:

• Even before attending the Paris climate conference, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, shook off the Legislature’s rejection earlier this year of two of his climate initiatives, a clean fuels standard and a carbon tax. In August, Inslee announced he would ask the state Department of Ecology to move forward with a rule-making process to institute a carbon cap on the state’s industries, leaving the tax or a trading system to the side for the time being. The intent is to set a baseline cap by 2020 for the number of tons of carbon dioxide that refineries, utilities, manufacturers and others can emit, then ratchet down that cap over time. Those that exceed the cap could invest in projects that reduce pollution or seek to buy carbon credits in other states and nations.

While they consider Inslee’s efforts as “government-centric,” Kris Johnson of the Association of Washington Business and Daren Konopaski of the International Union of Operating Engineers in their guest commentary today, agree that efforts to reduce carbon emissions are important and point out voluntary measures already taken by industry leaders in the state, noting for example, Boeing’s 9.3 percent reduction since 2007 in the greenhouse gases it emits.

Those voluntary efforts are worthy of appreciation, but that shouldn’t take the heat off of those who aren’t making a similar effort. Nor should those companies not working to cut their emissions be allowed to take advantage of those who are. A carbon cap would level the playing field for all in industry.

• Advances are being made in reducing emissions and making the switch to clean energy technologies more affordable and economically feasible. Bill McKibbon, founder of the global climate campaign, 350.org, wrote in a Los Angeles Times op-ed about recent advancements in clean energy; prices for solar panels, for example, have dropped 80 percent since 2009.

Solar is increasingly popular in Washington state, where systems generating 14 megawatts, enough to power 4,700 homes, were installed in 2014 at residences and commercial facilities, representing a 9 percent increase over 2013.

• Construction that makes buildings more efficient in the use of energy and resources also is progressing. Everett Community College’s Gray Wolf Hall, built in 2009 using Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards resulted in a building that reduces its electricity consumption and saves the college $20,000 a year in energy costs. Construction of WSU’s nearby University Center for North Puget Sound is being built to even higher environmental design standards.

K.C. Golden, a policy analyst for the Olympia-based advocacy group Climate Solutions, said during a conference call last week that regardless of the foot-dragging by national leaders in the U.S. and elsewhere, state and local efforts were making an impression internationally among the climate delegates in Paris.

“Local and state leaders are having a huge impact on the international negotiations. Northwest leaders are showing the positive face of America and have buoyed confidence … that we’re serious about solutions,” he said.

It would be disheartening to see rejection of a treaty by Congress, but four words, as often as they are heard, hold true: Think globally; act locally.