Washington Gov. Inslee unveils wide-ranging package of climate policy proposals
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday unveiled a wide-ranging climate policy package as part of his 2021-23 budget proposal, building toward the expected rollout of his full proposed budget later this week.
“We know we’re excited today about our vaccine in the state of Washington,” Inslee said as he opened a virtual press conference Tuesday. “But we know that COVID-19 is not the only threat to the health of our state that we have to face.”
The governor likened carbon pollution to a longer-term pandemic the state needs to “attack” to preserve the health of generations to come.
“We are an anti-pollution state, we are a pro-jobs state, we are a pro-health care state, and we are a pro-science state,” Inslee said. “Today I’m announcing a series of measures. By attacking carbon pollution, we will honor all of those basic values of the state of Washington, including growing our economy, big-time, across the state of Washington.”
Inslee is known for his intense focus on addressing climate change. It was at the core of his 2020 presidential campaign, and he’s been subject to some speculation that he could be tapped for a related position in President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s cabinet.
His package of proposed policies and budget items covers sectors from buildings to transportation with efforts toward equity and environmental justice appearing throughout. The policies are aimed at limiting greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with a state law passed in 2020 that sets goals for reductions each decade through 2050.
“We have done some really good work in our state already, but it is clear that we need to move forward with these strong steps if we’re going to meet our legislatively adopted requirements and our moral obligation to ourselves and our grandchildren,” Inslee said.
Projected emissions in Washington in 2030 are 84 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMT), according to a policy brief, which predicts the combined proposals would reduce emissions to 54.2 MMT by 2030, just above the limit set by law.
Action is urgent, he said, as communities face historic flooding and wild fires, sea-level rise impacts coastal economies, and ocean acidification imperils industry on the coasts and Puget Sound.
Leonard Forsman, Chairman of the Suquamish Tribe, said at the press conference that the Suquamish and other area tribes rely on marine life for “cultural, spiritual, economic, ceremonial lives and way of life” and are concerned about the impacts of climate change. He expressed appreciation to the governor for his work with tribes and to the lawmakers for working on climate legislation.
“We’re very concerned that if things continue as they have that we will suffer ocean acidification and warming waters and all these things that will impact our way of life, and those marine resources, those animals, those plants, those medicines — all those things that we’ve relied on for a long time and have a commitment to pass on to future generations,” Forsman said. “And these impacts threaten our spiritual kin, the southern resident killer whales as well.”
The orcas ask for the same commitment that tribes have been requesting for decades, he said: more salmon, clean water, and reduced vessel traffic.
According to the policy brief, the governor’s package of proposed climate policy includes:
▪ A continuing push to implement a low-carbon fuel standard, similar to what’s in place in Oregon, California, and British Columbia. Inslee’s proposing $2.85 million to implement a program — legislation he supports would require fuel suppliers to reduce the amount of carbon in fuels by 10% by 2028 and by 20% by 2035.
Transportation accounts for about 40-45% of Washington’s emissions, state Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Burien, said at the press conference. Fitzgibbon has sponsored a bill to establish such a standard in previous sessions, but it has not yet reached the governor’s desk.
“In one policy, we can reduce our contribution to the global climate crisis, we can improve air quality in the most disproportionately impacted communities in our state, and we can grow jobs and grow rural economies in the parts of our state that have often been left behind by our economic prowess,” Fitzgibbon said.
▪ A $12.6 million “Climate Commitment Act” that would put a cap on greenhouse gas emissions for “the state’s largest-emitting industries.” What industries it would cover is so far unclear.
The state Department of Ecology would administer a program that ensures covered industries comply with that cap via greenhouse gas credits, or “allowances.” Money made from allowance sales would go into a “climate investment account” set aside for supporting efforts such as clean transportation and infrastructure, climate resilience efforts such as forest management, and clean energy programs.
An “Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Panel” would recommend plans for those funds. Investments paid for by that account would also have to go through an “environmental justice analysis” to make sure the money is distributed equitably around the state and goes toward “eliminating environmental harm and economic and health disparities for vulnerable populations and overburdened communities.”
A portion of the revenue can fund the state’s Working Families Tax Credit, Inslee said, which benefits low-income families and was approved by the Legislature over a decade ago but has never been funded.
State Sen. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, will sponsor the bill and spoke about it at Tuesday’s press conference. He said the goal is to have a “thoughtful, economy-wide approach.”
▪ A bill that would eliminate fossil fuels from new construction for space and water heating by 2030 and “put the state on a pathway to eliminate fossil fuels from existing buildings by 2050.”
The proposed bill wouldn’t eliminate range-top natural gas, Inslee said, which would be allowed under the proposal.
$141 million in the governor’s proposed capital budget would go toward efforts that aim to support transitioning to cleaner buildings, according to the policy brief — $55 million of that would go toward weatherizing and supporting energy efficiency investments for 7,000 low-income residences, according to the brief, $66 million would go toward retrofitting public buildings.
▪ A $318 million investment toward ferry electrification efforts over four years. The money would go toward constructing a second hybrid electric ferry that would hold 144 cars; fund electrifying an existing ferry — the state secured funding to convert one ferry already and already authorized the second conversion, according to the policy brief — and build charging stations for the vessels.
$190.2 million is proposed in the 2021-23 budget for ferry electrification, according to the brief. One new ferry results in 560 direct jobs and 890 indirect jobs, he said, and electric ferries reduce emissions and operating costs while nixing noise and vibrations that harm orca whales.
▪ $100 million for clean energy projects from the state’s Clean Energy Fund, with priority consideration given to projects that benefit “vulnerable populations and overburdened communities.”
▪ $15 million in capital grants to electrify transit systems in the Transportation budget.
▪ $1.5 million for a program to promote and provide education about electric vehicles.
▪ $3.25 million to create a “coordinating entity” with Oregon and British Columbia to continue work on exploring an ultra-high-speed rail corridor system.
Implementation of recommendations from the Environmental Justice Task Force are peppered throughout the proposals, and the governor’s proposed budget would also “help fund environmental justice and equity staff expertise” in a handful of state agency programs.
“Environmental and racial justice is the way that we achieve our climate goals and make them last, and make them persistent, and allow our youth and our next generation to be able to benefit and take ownership and stewardship of this new way and this new economy,” state Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, said at the press conference.
The governor on Monday announced a package of proposals aimed at addressing equity issues in the state, and has said he’ll be announcing other policy packages in the coming days. The rollouts are building toward the unveiling of his full budget proposal later this week, a spokesperson for his office confirmed.
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 2:45 PM.
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