The Lewis County Public Utility District (PUD) Board of Commissioners has adopted a resolution supporting the repeal of Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) this November.
According to a resolution adopted during the Aug. 20 meeting, the CCA “will result in additional District power management costs due to market pricing of Carbon Allowances, raising overall costs of market power to the District.”
“Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Commission of Public Utility District No. 1 of Lewis County hereby declares its support to Initiative 2117, to repeal the Carbon Tax Credit Trading,” the initiative reads.
Initiative 2117 is among four initiatives Washington voters will have the opportunity to vote on during the general election. If passed, the initiative would “prohibit state agencies from imposing any type of carbon tax credit trading, and repeal legislation establishing a cap and invest program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
According to an explanatory statement prepared by the Washington state Attorney General’s Office, the CCA’s cap-and-invest program aims to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions. Washington State has set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and by 95% by 2050.
Under the CCA, large polluters must either reduce their emissions or pay for “allowances” through an auction administered by the Department of Ecology. In 2023, the auctions raised $1.8 billion.
The initiative alleges the costs associated with the CCA’s carbon auction were “passed on to consumers.”
If the initiative is passed, the last of these auctions will be held on Sept. 4, and the three remaining auctions scheduled for fiscal year 2025 will be canceled.
According to a flier prepared by the office of Gov. Jay Inslee, the state Legislature has appropriated $3.2 billion in CCA revenues for the 2023-25 biennium.
“The majority of funding goes towards transportation and buildings — the two largest sources of pollution in Washington state,” the flier states.
According to a fiscal impact statement prepared by the Office of Financial Management, the passage of I-2117 would “reduce state revenue from carbon allowance auctions by $3.8 billion and reduce state expenditures by $1.7 billion” through 2029.
The No on 2117 campaign is supported by more than 450 organizations across the state, including Amazon, AAA of Washington and BP America. According to the campaign, it has raised more than $12.9 million to defeat the initiative.
During an August event in the Duwamish Valley, Washington state House Majority Leader Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon said the initiative would undo “Washington’s biggest steps toward cleaner air since the 1990 Clean Air Act.”
“None of us can afford to go backward, especially seniors, children, and people with respiratory health conditions,” Fitzgibbon said.
Republicans have blamed the act, and other climate legislation, for an increase in gas and energy prices for consumers.
