Governors of U.S. western states have agreed that greenhouse gases are on the rise and called for action to reduce global warming, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

The bipartisan Western Governors' Association unanimously passed Sunday a resolution calling on states and cities to reduce human-caused greenhouse gases, but it contained no specifics on what action should be taken.

Though the resolution was a major step, especially for governors of states with power plants or major coal and oil reserves, its language was carefully nuanced, according to the report.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged his fellow governors to take an even stronger stand just before the vote at the association's annual conference in Sedona, Arizona.

"Unless we set specific goals and targets with specific ways to measure our performance, a resolution won't mean very much ...," Schwarzenegger said.

Noting that climate change is occurring and is "influenced by human activity," the resolution said the governors support taking steps to reduce human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

Schwarzenegger said it was important for the western states to send a clear message that they were concerned.

The Bush administration declined to comment on the resolution because officials had not seen it, according to a White House spokesman.

Others at the conference said the governors' action was significant because it was the first time they had formally voted on global warming and were saying that action was needed.

Source: Xinhua