January 23, 2007

The state of Michigan has signed a Resolution in Support of a Voluntary Midwest Greenhouse Gas Registry, joining seven other Midwest states including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

The states have been working with the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO) to develop a framework for a voluntary Midwest registry of greenhouse gas emissions. All of the funding for the development of the registry framework has come from private foundation monies, and efforts for the registry were initiated by LADCO after receiving a grant from the Joyce Foundation in August 2005, at the request of Michigan and Wisconsin. Subsequently, an additional grant from the Energy Foundation was awarded to LADCO for further development of the registry.

The voluntary registry will provide the mechanism for greenhouse gas-emitting companies to track their emissions and reductions and will provide a validated list of greenhouse gas emission reduction credits available for possible trading. Additionally, this program will give participating companies the ability to register reductions now should the federal government require emission reductions in the future. The registry will work in conjunction with registries already in place from the Northeast to California to become a multi-state registry involving more than 30 states.

"This is an important first step for Michigan and the Great Lakes Region to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gases," said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. "We look forward to continuing our partnership with companies around the state to improve the quality of our air and the environment."

More information on the Resolution can be found on the LADCO Web site at http://www.ladco.org/regional_greenhouse.htm, and the Michigan greenhouse gas inventory can be found at http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-aqd-air-aqe-greenhouse-gases.pdf.

Editor's note: DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"

Revised January 23, 2007 by Pat Watson