On Friday, eighteen states--including Michigan--signed on to a new declaration recommitting to "the effort to stop global warming." While the declaration said little about what specific solutions would be used or when the efforts would be undertaken, it made it clear that the governors consider global warming a serious issue:

"...we recommit ourselves to the effort to stop global warming and we call on
Congressional leaders and the Presidential candidates to work with us - in partnership - to establish a comprehensive national climate policy. Such a policy must be founded on
three principles:

* A federal-state partnership is the only way we can get the job done. Success in tackling climate change in the United States will require the full engagement of leadership states in climate governance processes and organizations, as well as support for state innovation and the development of green energy technologies.

* State-based climate action plans and programs have paved the way for cost- effective reductions of greenhouse gases and they deserve continued support. The comprehensive portfolio of measures taken at the state level across all sectors are real and they work. There are a variety of ways these actions can be further strengthened, and more of them developed and implemented, with federal support.

* Rewarding and encouraging meaningful and mandatory federal and state climate action is the key to success. Incentives for states to provide leadership on climate action are critical. Incentives drive change and they can come from existing federal energy, transportation, and agriculture programs as well as from auction revenue derived from a federal cap and trade system".

The 18 states combined emit as much greenhouse gas as the combined total of the biggest nations in Europe. The states are working to take action on the issue after what they view as seven years of inaction on global warming and the weakness of President Bush's recent speech on global warming in which he failed to seriously confront the issue.

Last year, Michigan signed on to a Midwest Governors' Association commitment to address global warming.