Climate 411

What Washington state can learn from California’s decade of climate investments

By Guest Author / Published: June 30, 2023

This blog was authored by Delia Novak, Western States Climate Policy Intern, U.S. Region.

Since the launch of Washington’s cap-and-invest program in January, the state has raised over $850 million in revenue through two consecutive, sold-out auctions under the program. These cap-and-invest auctions provide critical funding for the clean energy and climate resilience projects that will lock in a swift transition to a healthier, safer climate future — with at least 35% of funding used to benefit communities that are overburdened by air pollution and who will be impacted first and worst by the climate crisis if we fail to act.

Last month, Governor Inslee signed Washington’s final budget for 2023-2025, which will make use of a whopping $2 billion in funding from the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), with highlights including $138 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, $123 million for solar and storage projects, $120 million for zero emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles, and $163 million for home electrification rebates. By making decarbonization more affordable and slashing climate-warming emissions, this funding is already an impressive indication of the opportunities and investment that the cap-and-invest proceeds will deliver to communities across Washington.

But Washington’s climate investments are just getting started. In the meantime, we can look to California’s decade of climate investments to understand the important benefits that Washington’s cap-and-invest program can provide for its communities.

Also posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, Jobs, News, Policy / Comments are closed

After the longest walkout in Oregon’s history, the state’s climate progress hangs in the balance

By Kjellen Belcher / Published: June 16, 2023

For the past six weeks, Oregon’s legislative session has been held hostage. On May 3, a small group of state Senators fled the Capitol instead of fulfilling their core responsibility as elected officials: to represent their constituents by casting votes in the legislative process. Yesterday, those legislators finally returned to the Capitol—but with only ten days left in the legislative session, Oregon’s continued climate progress is at risk.

By boycotting the legislative session, these obstructionist lawmakers halted the basic functioning of government by denying the Legislature “quorum,” a Constitutional requirement that two-thirds of all members be present to hold a vote. This walkout tactic has been used to block climate action in the past, and we cannot let it be used again to delay our progress towards a healthier, safer climate future.

Also posted in Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Authors: kbelcher / Comments are closed

Washington state’s second cap-and-invest auction shows strong demand

By Caroline Jones / Published: June 7, 2023

Photo Credit: Wendy Olsen Photography

Blog co-authored by Kjellen Belcher, Manager, U.S. Climate

Today’s results from Washington’s second cap-and-invest auction – most notably selling 100% of allowances – continue to signal strong demand for allowances and confidence in the program, bringing significant revenue for the state to reinvest in Washington communities. This is only the second auction held for the cap-and-invest program, following on a strong debut auction which also sold-out and raised almost $300 million in revenue which will be put towards efforts to further decrease Washington’s climate pollution and increase resilience to climate change.

Also posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Read 3 Responses

3 considerations for climate negotiators as they close out the first Global Stocktake

By Maggie Ferrato / Published: June 5, 2023

This post was co-authored by Julia Ilhardt, High Meadows Fellow for Global Climate Cooperation at Environmental Defense Fund.

Flags of the world. Getty.

The first Global Stocktake – a process designed to assess collective progress toward the Paris Agreement’s goals on climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance – is rapidly nearing its official conclusion at COP28.

With nearly a full year of discussions completed, the process is shifting from a technical exercise to a political one. The outcome must spur ambition in the upcoming round of national climate plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), due to the UN climate agency in 2025.

A successful outcome of the first Global Stocktake will point countries to opportunities for climate action that will put the world on track to meet the Paris goals.

What has the Global Stocktake told us so far?
The vast amount of technical information and literature submitted for consideration since the start of the Global Stocktake underscores what we already know. Despite progress in recent years, we’re not on track to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. On mitigation, for example, countries must step up the ambition of their NDCs and implement the commitments they’ve already made.

The literature also reminds us, however, that we have a wide range of tools available to tackle the climate crisis. In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that we could reduce emissions by at least half by 2030 with solutions that cost no more than $100 per ton of CO2e. And half of these solutions actually cost less than $20 per ton of CO2e.

Opportunities for action are available across all sectors and greenhouse gases. As countries begin work on their updated climate plans, they must make use of these tools and learn from each other’s experiences.

The next round of NDCs is due to the UNFCCC in two short years, and we now have fewer than seven years left in this critical decade. The Global Stocktake should provide a springboard for action.

The political phase of the Global Stocktake is about generating outputs that help them do just that. Though negotiators have yet to decide on the final form the outputs will take, the products will summarize opportunities, challenges, lessons learned, and good practices for implementing climate solutions.

To ensure a successful first Global Stocktake, here are three things negotiators should keep in mind as the process enters its final phase:

Also posted in International, Paris Agreement, United Nations / Comments are closed

The lowdown on linkage: Why Washington and California should link their carbon markets

By Caroline Jones / Published: June 1, 2023

It’s been two months since the debut auction of Washington’s cap-and-invest program — the nation’s most ambitious climate program to date — which puts a firm, declining limit on climate pollution across the state’s economy. Since then, state leaders have turned their attention to the next major decision facing the program: whether to link up Washington state’s carbon market with California-Quebec’s market, a.k.a. “Linkage.” Put simply, linkage refers to joining carbon pricing systems — like cap-and-invest or cap-and-trade systems — across borders, whether those borders are state or national. In a linked market, all participating jurisdictions pool their supply of allowances, and conduct shared auctions.

Washington’s Department of Ecology recently concluded their public comment period on the issue of linkage, the first step required for pursuing linkage as laid out by the state’s Climate Commitment Act, with a goal of linking Washington’s carbon market with the joint California-Quebec carbon market by 2025. After Washington decides whether or not to pursue linkage — likely later this summer — California and Quebec will need to undertake their own processes to decide whether to link.

Washington, California and Quebec have a lot to gain from linkage. It can drive deeper cuts in climate pollution, lower prices and increase the stability of the carbon market. The programs in these jurisdictions are already aligned in the central ways needed to function as a linked market — but to unlock the greatest benefits of linkage, leaders need to align key aspects of these carbon markets in their respective processes.

Here’s what you should know about linkage and four key opportunities Washington and California-Quebec have to align their programs.

Also posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Comments are closed

How our clean energy laws can support a fair transition for workers and communities

By Derek Walker / Published: May 1, 2023

Our country is going to rapidly deploy and manufacture clean energy technologies to a scale never seen before, thanks in large part to historic laws passed by the Biden-Harris administration and Congress.

This shift is already unleashing new jobs and economic opportunities around the country, but many communities reliant on fossil fuel production – coal, oil and gas – are rightfully concerned about how it will affect their lives and their futures.

Last month, the Biden-Harris administration announced a sweeping set of new investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act aimed at revitalizing communities dependent on coal and fossil fuels. It’s a recognition that the clean energy transition cannot succeed unless it’s fair and equitable.

For over 150 years, coal and other fossil fuel workers have worked to power our economy. As natural gas and clean energy outcompeted coal in the last decade, hundreds of coal plants and mines across the country have shuttered, while the communities that depended on them have often been left behind – facing job loss, with funding for schools and roads running dry, and a legacy of local pollution to reckon with.

Recognizing the challenges facing fossil fuel communities in transition, the administration responded with a “whole-of-government” approach, bringing 12 different agencies together through the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization. In the past two years, the group has driven $14 billion in targeted investment to these communities.

The latest set of actions takes that support to new levels, not just by dollar amount, but in how it deploys a suite of different policies to help make communities whole – from job and benefits programs for individual workers to large-scale economic development that can sustain communities. While more support will be needed, this kind of comprehensive approach has been recommended by many groups, including joint research from EDF and Resources for the Future, as well as by the BlueGreen Alliance and Just Transition Fund.

Here’s a quick look at how some of these new investments take aim at critical challenges facing energy communities, and what needs to happen next:

Also posted in Cars and Pollution, Cities and states, Economics, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, Innovation, Jobs, News, Policy / Comments are closed

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