B.C. joins Pacific coastal states to develop green strategies

British Columbia has partnered with four U.S. states in the Pacific Coast Collaborative, an agreement to co-operate on green strategies along the West Coast.

Premier Gordon Campbell announced the project on the second day of the annual Western Governors' Association conference, held this year in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

"I believe that we will establish a legacy of engagement among the leaders that will lead to co-operative action on critical issues that face our region both now and in the future," Campbell said Monday from Wyoming.

The premier did not take questions.

Under the agreement, the premier of British Columbia will meet with the governors of Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California each year to collaborate on issues that affect the Pacific region.

Those include clean energy, regional transportation and transit, alternative fuel distribution and developing a sustainable regional economy.

Campbell said the states and B.C. will also co-operate on climate change issues and emergency management. The meeting location will rotate each year through the jurisdictions.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said coastal states and provinces face unique issues, and the agreement allows them to look beyond "artificial boundaries."

"We may divide states by some fictitious line, but we don't divide our water, don't divide our air," Gregoire said.