Washington state ballot initiative threatens $4.6B in climate funds - E&E News by POLITICO
Washington state ballot initiative threatens $4.6B in climate funds - E&E News by POLITICO
Washington voters could torpedo $4.6 billion in climate funding if they pass a ballot initiative this November to end the state’s carbon market.
The market, which launched last year, forces big businesses to pay for carbon pollution as part of the state’s efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. State leaders plan to use the resulting billions of dollars for everything from electric school buses and ferries to $200 utility bill credits.
But voters will decide this fall whether to repeal the 2021 landmark climate law that created the market. The ballot initiative was bankrolled by Brian Heywood, a Republican megadonor who is spending millions to repeal laws from the state’s Democratic-led Legislature.
Supporters of the effort say the carbon market — dubbed “cap and invest” — has increased the state’s gasoline prices and utility bills. Heywood argued in a statement that the market is “costing working and commuting Washingtonians thousands of dollars in hidden gas, heating, and grocery costs every year.”
Related Knowledge Center: Climate legislation
The federal government and states are in the process of implementing two laws — the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act — an investment of more than a trillion dollars to address climate change.