CONTACT: Emily Moore, Sightline Institute, emily@sightline.org
ARTICLE: Four Ways Gov.-elect Ferguson and Washington Lawmakers Can Build on the State’s Big Climate Win
SEATTLE, WA – Washingtonians delivered a resounding endorsement of climate action on Tuesday when they overwhelmingly opted to keep the Climate Commitment Act. Voters, including in counties that supported Trump, rejected Initiative 2117, which would have repealed the state’s cap-and-invest law and prevented policymakers from enacting another one in its stead, In doing so, they sent a clear message to Governor-elect Bob Ferguson and other Washington leaders to continue the state’s climate leadership.
Nonpartisan, regional think tank Sightline Institute outlines four ways Washington leaders can model climate action for the rest of the United States, including:
- Round out the Climate Commitment Act to fulfill what the legislature and voters intend for it to do: cut pollution, including from gas utilities and big polluting facilities, and uphold its environmental justice commitments.
- Advance climate action at the Utilities and Transportation Commission, which regulates investor-owned gas utilities, including by appointing a climate champion as commissioner.
- Build the grid Washington needs to support its clean energy future.
- Double down on neighborhood-scale thermal energy networks, the highly efficient carbon-free networks of water pipes and ground-source heat pumps that are popular with environmental, labor, and consumer advocates.
“Tuesday’s results made it clear that climate is a winning issue for voters,” says Emily Moore, director of Sightline Institute’s Climate and Energy program. “Federal climate action is likely to be at a standstill over the next four years—but Washington can keep moving forward with powerful, nation-leading policies for cleaner air, healthier homes, safer transit, and a strong economy powered by renewable energy.”
Moore is available for comment on the climate policy implications of election outcomes in Washington state.
Per Sightline’s free use policy, all research, graphics, and other resources are available to republish.
Article: Four Ways Gov.-elect Ferguson and Washington Lawmakers Can Build on the State’s Big Climate Win
Related Research:
- (Re)explaining Washington’s Climate Commitment Act | Understanding the cap-and-invest law that Washington Initiative 2117 would repeal.
- The Northwest’s Electric Grid Deserves an Upgrade | Up to 40 percent of the region’s grid could be suitable for reconductoring—for less than half the time and cost of building new transmission lines.
- It’s Time for Cascadia to Start Pruning the Gas System and Electrifying Whole Neighborhoods | Early efforts in California, Colorado, and New York offer lessons to get started.
- Washingtonians Will Soon Enjoy Cleaner Heating and Cooling Options | HB 2131, to allow thermal energy networks, unanimously passed in the 2024 legislative session. It’s a win for consumers, the climate, pipeline workers, and electric grids.
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Emily Moore is Director of Sightline Institute’s Climate and Energy program. She leads the organization’s work transitioning Cascadia off coal, oil, and gas to a future of abundant clean energy. Find her latest research here.
Sightline Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank providing leading original analysis of energy, democracy, forests, and housing policy in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, British Columbia, and beyond.
