Washingtonians Uphold State’s Climate Change Program
Voters in Washington have rejected ballot initiative 2117, upholding the state’s cap-and-trade program under the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). About 62 percent of voters went against the measure, with 58 percent of the vote counted as of press time.
Passed in 2021, the CCA established Washington’s cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Under this mechanism, the state government sets an emissions cap which businesses whose annual GHG emissions exceed 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)Â equivalent must meet. If they can’t, companies must purchase additional allowance credits at a quarterly auction. The revenue generated at these auctions funds clean energy and environmental protection programs authorized by the CCA. Companies that meet the 25,000 metric ton emissions threshold but do not participate in the auction face fines of up to $50,000 per day.
In the program’s first auction in February 2023, the price of a metric ton of CO2 equivalent was set at $48.50 and generated a revenue of almost $300 million. At the state’s most recent auction, held in September 2024, one metric ton of CO2 equivalent was traded for $29.88, bringing in more than $237 million in revenue, $157 million of which will go to CCA programs. The CCA’s total operating budget is nearly $3 billion, according to the program’s dashboard.Â
The CCA has drawn criticism from Washingtonians for many reasons, the most prominent being cost. Before the program took effect, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said the CCA would have a “minimal impact” and only add “pennies” in additional costs at the pump. After the CCA was implemented, Washington’s gas prices became one of the highest in the nation, jumping by as much as 50 cents per gallon.Â
Opponents of Initiative 2117, including state representative Joe Fitzgibbon (D–Seattle), believe that price gouging from oil companies is to blame for these high costs. However, analysis from Todd Myers, the vice president for research at the Washington Policy Center and supporter of the ballot measure, has found a direct link between
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