cap and invest
Consumer spending drives another $200M in expected state revenue growth
Washington’s economy is churning a little slower as consumers keep spending but homes aren’t selling at the pace they were a year ago. A new revenue forecast released Monday projects state tax collections will reach $66.9 billion for the two-year budget cycle that began July 1, an increase of $191 million from what chief economist […]
Inslee appointees oppose merging Washington’s carbon market with California, Québec
Gov. Jay Inslee is pressing ahead with plans to combine Washington’s carbon market with ones in California and Québec despite opposition from a statewide panel of his own appointees. The Environmental Justice Council says the merger could hurt communities where pollution causes the most harm and weaken existing air quality improvement programs. Council members informed […]
Searching for fixes to the farm fuel carveout in Washington’s climate law
Farmers and truckers say the state is ignoring their ideas for how to fix a troubled exemptions system that is supposed to shield them from fuel price hikes under Washington’s new climate law. The Washington State Department of Ecology launched a series of stakeholder meetings this summer to iron out the exemptions, which are available […]
High prices trigger special auction of emission allowances
Washington will sell a limited number of emission allowances Aug. 9 in response to higher-than-expected prices in the most recent auction of the state’s cap-and-trade program. The special auction is from the Allowance Price Containment Reserve, a separate pool of allowances made available when the prices at a quarterly auction exceed a certain level, state […]
Pipeline that Inslee blames for gas price spike has been open for nearly a month
Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday repeatedly blamed the closure of a major fuel pipeline in western Washington for driving the state’s gasoline prices to the highest in the nation. But the pipeline isn’t shut down and hasn’t been since late June, refueling debate over how much of the recent surge at the pump is a […]
New Yorkers look to Washington for advice on cap-and-trade
Architects of Washington’s cap-and-invest program on Thursday told designers of a similar carbon pricing initiative in New York that as money starts to roll in, they should be cognizant of higher costs borne by consumers. “I could go on and on about the exciting investments but part of the problem that we’re dealing with is […]
Farmers see fuel costs rise despite cap-and-trade carveout
Farmers in Washington are supposed to be exempt from the new cap-and-trade program but, six months in, some say they are still getting hit with added fuel costs. The state Department of Ecology says they have given all of the necessary resources to fuel suppliers to exempt farmers. The fuel suppliers say the department has […]
State preps for second sale of pollution allowances
Washington is preparing to conduct its second auction of pollution allowances on Wednesday, May 31 with proceeds paying for an array of programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat the effects of climate change. The 2021 Climate Commitment Act created a cap-and-trade program aimed at getting the state’s largest polluters, including facilities like oil […]
A climate cash spending spree is about to get underway in Washington state
More than a year before Democrats in Congress approved a massive climate law last year, Washington state enacted the nation’s second cap-and-trade program that will provide billions of dollars for carbon reduction and environmental justice projects. The funding is something climate activists have been seeking for years — if not decades — and state leaders […]