Grist: Washington’s cap on carbon is raising billions for climate action. Can it survive the backlash?
What’s the opposite of “backlash”?
Whatever the word, that’s our charge for 2024. And as we share more with Washingtonians about the benefits of the Climate Commitment Act, this article from Grist is worthwhile reading, especially this section:
Experts said that the law is already having tangible benefits. Businesses, hoping to avoid paying for costly pollution “allowances,” are figuring out how to run their operations while emitting less carbon. Meanwhile, the revenue from the program is spurring clean energy efforts, including a large-scale solar project by the Yakama Nation, and attracting green industries like clean hydrogen. The funding will also help families install energy-efficient (and money-saving) heat pumps and provide incentives for garbage trucks, delivery vans, and buses to go electric.
“If we are concerned about the cost of transportation for Washington businesses and residents, we have to keep our focus away from the arm-waving of the variations of gas prices that we’ve suffered through for decades and really look to true solutions,” said Michael Mann, the executive director for Clean & Prosperous Washington, a climate-friendly business coalition. “And the true solution to lower our transportation costs is to get off of fossil fuels.”
The Climate Commitment Act is working to drive down emissions while making polluters pay for investments in air quality improvement programs, and put fossil fuels in the rearview mirror.
Explore the many investments being funded by the CCA in this searchable budget table from the Clean & Prosperous Institute