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Clean energy is ready to move forward in the Washington State Legislature—let's help make sure it does!
Washington State has made important progress on climate with the passage of 100% clean electricity, Clean Fuel Standard, Climate Commitment Act, enshrining environmental justice into law, and establishing energy efficiency standards for commercial buildings statewide. Every day local jurisdictions are making progress on addressing building emissions. But there is more to do to take urgent action to reduce our carbon pollution and meet our statutory climate goals. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report is clear: we must continue to take bold actions to address the climate crisis and to avert mounting catastrophic and deadly impacts. We are already seeing climate impacts in Washington, including hotter temperatures, more frequent and fiercer wildfires, and intense flooding. The Washington Legislature must continue to accelerate big solutions to the climate crisis for our health, our climate, and our future.
Buildings are the fastest-growing source of emissions in Washington, which is largely attributable to the use of fossil gas for space and water heating and cooking. If our homes and buildings were carbon-free and energy efficient, we would significantly reduce our climate pollution, drastically cut energy costs for owners and renters, and improve air quality where we live and work. Combusting fossil gas also poses significant health risks for our communities, children, and other vulnerable populations. In addition, where and how we build matters and planning should be consistent with our state’s climate goals. Washington needs policies to move towards 100% clean, all-electric buildings that will keep residents safe and healthy.
The targeted electrification incentive bill will clarify that public utilities can create electrification programs, allowing them to provide incentives for customers to buy efficient heat pumps. Utility electrification programs will improve customer choice, lower the cost of efficient all-electric technologies, and level the playing field between private and public utilities. These programs are beneficial to both the utility and the utility’s customers, so it’s a win-win.
We all want clean, affordable, accessible, safe and efficient ways to get around. Research from Climate Solutions shows the best way to decarbonize transportation requires both electrification of nearly all vehicles on the road and reducing the need for personal vehicles through transit expansion, efficient land use policy, safe bicycle and pedestrian networks, and more. The climate agenda for the 2022 session will set Washington on a path to achieving this future by building on the success of the Clean Fuel Standard.
(AQS) is a progressive and flexible source of revenue that would only impact a small number of Washingtonians who tend to be in the top income quintile. The AQS charge would vary based on a vehicle’s estimated lifetime greenhouse gas pollution, thereby incentivizing cleaner vehicle purchases in addition to providing much-needed multimodal funding.
The Growth Management Act should be updated to reflect climate change, housing affordability, and issues of environmental justice and ensure our long-range planning leads to reduced climate pollution, more resilient communities, and adequate affordable housing. This must happen in the 2022 legislative session, before cities and counties embark on updating their next comprehensive plan, to ensure those plans include considerations for climate change, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and consistency with the state energy strategy and climate goals.
We can have a thriving, equitable Northwest, powered by clean energy and we can lead and inspire the transition to sustainable prosperity across the nation and beyond. The fossil fuel industry’s resistance to innovation and progress toward a clean energy future means that we need a broad and committed movement to accelerate clean energy solutions to the climate crisis. With Washington’s natural resources, historic clean energy achievements, technology leadership, and emphasis on sustainable prosperity make our region a natural leader in the transition to a clean energy future.
2021’s passage of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) will herald a new more sustainable economy for our state, but a number of topics remain unfinished that need to be addressed in 2022 including restoring tribal consent for projects funded with carbon dollars, a long term trajectory for Energy-Intensive Trade-Exposed (EITE) that protects the integrity of the cap and ensures that all sectors—including industry—do their fair share, and developing a program to address the annual 2.7 million tons of climate pollution from landfill emissions.
We need to replace our expansive fossil fuel infrastructure—oil refineries, natural gas power plants, and more—with new clean replacements and improved siting laws: clean manufacturing, green hydrogen production, renewable energy generation, new transmission capacity, biofuel refining and more. This includes clarity for project proponents around the state’s expectations, certainty and predictability around review timeline, and more.
To reduce methane emissions from landfills we need to set a statewide target for diversion of organic material from the landfill/incinerator stream and a separate target for edible food diversion to food rescue groups. Legislation will also reclaim usable food from the waste stream and help provide it to those most in need.
Buy Clean policies, such as the policy passed in California in 2017, mandate that emissions from certain materials be documented and considered when contracting for state-funded infrastructure projects. Adding a Buy Fair element requires contractors and subcontractors to report on domestic labor law compliance in the countries where they produce goods and services, incentivizing clean and fair manufacturing. In 2022, Climate Solutions and partners will prioritize a bill that requires disclosure of embodied carbon (carbon associated with a product’s manufacture) and labor practices to help the state understand its procurement practices, and consider procurement requirements in future sessions.
by Gregg Small and Vlad Gutman-Britten on November 3, 2016
Washingtonians are ready for climate action. Having more voices and interests actively engaged in shaping climate action doesn’t make our task …
by KC Golden on October 25, 2016
“Climate solutions” aren’t just about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We need to wage and win a clean energy revolution, to go all the way to a…
by Seth Zuckerman on October 17, 2016
Climate gets a cameo in the presidential race, Oregon utility to try burning biomass in Boardman coal plant, federal loan guarantees boosted utility-…
by Seth Zuckerman on September 19, 2016
Worldwide electric car sales up 49 percent in first half of 2016, designers develop wearable solar cells, Canada to set a minimum national carbon…
by Climate Solutions on September 15, 2016
"We appreciate Governor Inslee’s ongoing commitment to putting Washington on a path to a clean energy transition," said Climate Solutions' Vlad…
by Seth Zuckerman on August 29, 2016
Lummi bring totem pole to Sioux pipeline protest, sea-level rise may claim 1.9 million US homes by 2100, EV is to internal combustion as cell is to…
by Seth Zuckerman on August 22, 2016
US finalizes fuel economy standards for big trucks, Louisiana floods made more likely by global warming, Washington rolls out smart grid pilot…
by Vlad Gutman-Britten on July 11, 2016
Washington state officials continue working on a new set of rules to cap carbon emissions. Getting ir right will require setting more ambitious goals…
by Seth Zuckerman on June 27, 2016
Union Pacific track maintenance blamed for oil-train derailment, VW will pay nearly $15 billion to settle US claims in emissions deceit scandal,…
by Seth Zuckerman on June 6, 2016
SEIU votes to make climate action a priority, California tests zero-net-energy homes, Australian coal CEOs defect to solar and energy efficiency, and…
by Vlad Gutman-Britten on June 2, 2016
Washington's Clean Air Rule will reduce climate-damaging carbon emissions from the state's top polluters. That's a step in the right direction!
by Kimberly Larson on June 1, 2016
Olympia, WA – The Department of Ecology on Wednesday released an updated draft of the Clean Air Rule
by Seth Zuckerman on May 23, 2016
Bernie Sanders names Bill McKibben to Democratic platform committee, cows treated to belch less methane, climate refugees leave California for the…
by Caleb Smith on May 17, 2016
The 2016 Western Washington Solutions Summit hosted by the Washington Policy Center will convene over 600 policymaker
by Seth Zuckerman on May 2, 2016
South African concentrating solar plant generates round the clock, Ukraine marks Chernobyl anniversary, solar auction hits new low under 3 cents per…
Please email development@climatesolutions.org or contact Savitha Reddy Pathi, Deputy Director, at 206-854-6630.
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Clean energy is ready to move forward in the Washington State Legislature—let's help make sure it does!
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