Sustainable Cities Forum

September 17, 2010

Good morning, and thank you David (Leonhardt), for that introduction.

Let me also thank the Ministry of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, and the Asia Society of Northern California for hosting this event.

Thank you to our moderators. And a special thank you to my counterpart in this session.

I am in Shanghai as part of a trade mission that includes 100 officials representing Washington businesses, agriculture, educational institutions and tourism. Let me say we all appreciate the hospitality we have received.

Our topic today � sustainability -- is a well-established value in Washington state.

We understand its importance from an environmental perspective � protecting our trees, our waterfronts, the air we breathe.

From a business perspective, we see this sector growing faster than others � producing new technology, green jobs, and more energy for our industries.

Across the globe, these perspectives are merging. With California Gov. Schwarzenegger, I co-hosted the Governors� Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles last year. It was attended by governors and mayors from around the world.

I learned they are focusing on bicycle-friendly infrastructure in Mexico City. In Toronto, they plan to double their tree canopy, move taxis to hybrid technology, and develop one of the world�s largest urban rail systems.

They are moving on renewable energy in Indonesia and Brazil. They are tackling climate change in Nigeria and the Philippines.

We in Washington state are proud of our work to become more energy efficient, to foster renewable energy and embrace clean technology.

Our cities have been leaders. The state capital, Olympia, established a �green fleet� policy that, over seven years, has reduced its vehicle fleet by almost 20 percent and reduced its fuel consumption by 15 percent.

The City of Issaquah is building a zero-energy housing development in partnership with businesses. It involves designing, constructing and selling houses that demonstrate advanced green building technologies.

There are many cities in Washington with community gardens, which strengthen community bonds, provide food, and create recreational and therapeutic opportunities.

And many more cities in Washington state have signed the Mayors Climate protection Agreement, which strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets on emissions.

That agreement was launched by former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. Today, more than 1,000 U.S. cities have signed on.

At the state level, we have acted to accelerate our transition to the clean energy future.

We adopted state law targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and clean energy standards for our electrical power, our cars, and our buildings.

We have put in place tax incentives and public investments to help drive innovation and private investment.

State government also has to do its part. It�s my goal that state government be carbon neutral by 2020 � our state agencies need to develop business practices that will stop their contributions to climate change, fully eliminating or compensating for green house gas emissions.

We recently announced our new �electric highway� � a network of public access electric vehicle recharging stations that will extend the range, utility and practical market access for electric vehicles.

Interstate 5 is the highway connection along the Pacific coast from Canada to Mexico. With this investment in that corridor, Washington will have the first state border-to-border highway to offer fast charge technology, the first electric vehicle interstate corridor implemented in the United States.

Two thirds of the state�s electrical power is generated by hydropower.

Not satisfied, the citizens of Washington State enacted law to require, by 2020, an additional 15 percent of electricity generation from renewable energy � from wind, solar, bioenergy or other sources.

This requirement is separate from and on top of our current hydropower base. In total, we are on course to have over 80 percent of our electrical power from clean, renewable sources by 2020.

That portfolio is a competitive asset. While attending the recent climate summit in Copenhagen, I got to drive the new all electric BMW Mini Cooper.

Besides the fun of experiencing the next generation of cars, it gave me a chance to invite the company to locate in Washington State. I was very gratified when they announced their new carbon fiber manufacturing facility in our state.

Carbon fiber is also a major component of Boeings next-generation airliner. In Anacortes, Washington, we built the carbon-fiber yacht that won the America�s Cup.

With their Washington state plant, BMW and partner SGL will integrate the strong, lightweight material into basic automotive manufacturing for the first time.

BMW plans to use carbon fiber made in Washington in its future Mega-City electric vehicle.

Washington State has tax incentives for wind and solar energy projects, as well as biomass energy, ocean energy, geothermal, anaerobic digestion, waste heat energy, and even energy from algae.

In 2001, we produced virtually no wind power in Washington state. Today, Washington is 4th among American states in the production of wind power.

There are also areas where we are looking for global partners, in other governments and business-to-business; where our state�s interests would like to partner with you and others.

First, we are looking to design and construct buildings that better integrate energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Second, we want to make progress on integrating intermittent renewable resources, such as wind, into the regional electrical grid.

Our regional wind power has grown so fast that we need the second generation of solutions for effectively and affordably storing and delivering that power.

Third, we will need smart grid technologies to enable our first two areas of focus. To reach our clean energy goals we will need a smarter system to tie together the grid transmission, the utility distribution and consumer demand.

Major investments in both basic smart grid infrastructure and demonstration of new smart grid technology are under way in Washington and the Pacific Northwest region.

And fourth, we want to scale up our use of bioenergy. Between our expansive forests and our agricultural base, Washington has the feedstocks to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.


We currently have the largest biofuels plant in the US. We are looking to build on our initial state standards, and the early adoptions in the aviation sector, to help commercialize the next generation of biofuels.

When President Hu visited Washington State, he expressed interest in buying our biofuels. Soon, I hope Washington State can deliver on his interest.

Today, we have more than 400 clean technology companies of all sizes in Washington state, creating jobs and driving economic growth.

We�ve seen our clean energy businesses grow -- in the last five years, our clean energy and other green jobs have grown more than 12 times faster than expected. Our goal was 25,000 green jobs by 2020, and instead we reached almost 100,000 green jobs by the end of 2009!

In addition to drawing investments from BMW, one of China�s leading solar power companies, GCL Solar, has opened an office near some of our home-grown clean-tech firms.

So, this highly competitive field is also mutually beneficial. In a race to out-do one another in energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, we all win.

Today�s forum is another example of that return on our investment. As we draw ideas and inspiration from one another, we drive one another to do more to sustain a healthy, vibrant environment.

It�s not just doing the right thing for our children and grand children, it�s about transforming for the new economy. One where we harness the power of the wind and sun to power our cities � and to put their people to work.

Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak. And I look forward to hearing from our next speaker.

Thank you.