Will we Move Ahead fast enough to reach our climate goal?

The Climate Commitment Act (CCA), passed in Olympia last year, introduces an historic Cap-and-Invest system that promises to clean our air, boost our economy, and achieve our goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

Right now, legislators are making decisions that will drive over $5 billion of investments from the CCA’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Account (CERA). As they shape the Move Ahead Washington transportation package, building a portfolio of projects funded by CERA, we applaud the work they are doing, and appreciate their commitment to achieving our climate goals.

We also urge them to follow the data.

Our recent report, and experience from California demonstrate that we need a portfolio of investments that can reduce emissions for $125/ton or less. That’s why we are questioning the math of the current proposal. To squeeze another 24 million tons of carbon out through targeted investments before the end of this decisive decade, we need more “climate bang for our carbon bucks”. 

As currently crafted, Move Ahead WA directs as little as  one dollar out of six to the highest-impact programs that studies show are 9 times more effective in reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality than the balance of other proposed projects.  Should we turn the dial more towards these proven GHG reduction programs?

We urge leaders in Olympia to re-balance investments in the Climate Commitment Act’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Account (CERA) to more appropriately address our climate destruction crisis. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bend our emission curve in the right direction.