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Last month, Washingtonians voted to protect their landmark cap-and-invest program, showing support for the program’s strong limit on pollution and game-changing investments. Thanks to this resounding win, the cap-and-invest program continues to deliver for Washington communities — with today’s results bringing in record revenue for the year.
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With anticipated environmental rollbacks at the federal level, the U.S. needs states to act on climate in order to make progress towards the nation’s 2030 commitments. Luckily, there are already signs of momentum. A landslide victory in Washington state to protect its climate law sends a hopeful message that ambitious climate action at the state level is not only possible — it’s popular. This result in Washington should give state leaders across the country confidence to move forward with bold action at a moment when it’s needed the most. Here’s what to know about the power of state-level action and a few highlights to watch out for in 2025.
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Results were released today for California’s fourth cap-and-trade auction of the year, which was administered last week by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Auction prices in the joint California-Quebec market (known as the Western Climate Initiative, or WCI) have trended downward this year, reflecting growing uncertainty among market participants about how best to plan their compliance strategies in the absence of regulatory or legislative clarity. A clear commitment to ambitious reductions in climate pollution and long-term market stability are urgently needed.
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Washington state’s cap-and-invest program, created in the 2021 Climate Commitment Act (CCA), is nearing the end of its second year and has already raised over $2 billion for communities by putting a price on pollution.
The program is a win-win for climate action and for communities: It creates a powerful economic incentive for companies across the state to lower their emissions, while generating investments for Washington communities in the process. There are already many projects underway across all 39 counties in the state, putting that auction revenue to use. Some of the benefits that people in Washington are seeing include:
But the scale of this program enables it to deliver much more for Washington’s communities and economy in the long run. Just how much more? Thanks to new, in-depth modeling from Greenline Insights, supported by EDF, we now have a clearer picture of the transformative impact this program could have.
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Results were released today for Washington’s third quarterly auction of 2024, administered last Wednesday by the Department of Ecology (Ecology). During the auction, participating entities submitted their bids for allowances. Under the Climate Commitment Act — Washington’s landmark climate law which sets a binding, declining limit on pollution — Washington’s major emitters are required to hold one allowance for every ton of greenhouse gas that they emit, with the total number of allowances declining each year. With fewer allowances available each year, this system requires polluters in Washington to reduce their emissions in line with the state’s climate targets. Distributing allowances through quarterly auctions allows Ecology to both regulate harmful emissions and raise critical revenue to invest in frontline communities, ramp up clean job creation, bolster climate resilience, and accelerate further emissions reductions.
Here are the results, released today:
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Results of the latest Western Climate Initiative (WCI) auction were released today. While the auction sold out for the 16th consecutive time, a decline in the settlement price indicates potential market uncertainty about the cap-and-trade program’s design in the future.
This auction is expected to generate roughly $950 million for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), which is dedicated to supporting initiatives aimed at strengthening climate resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The GGRF is critical to California’s climate strategy. In the past 10 years, climate investments like GGRF have cut emissions in California by 109.2 million metric tons — the equivalent of the annual emissions of more than 25 million cars — by investing in projects like building affordable housing near job centers, adding zero-emissions transport options, and more.
