Washington state this week began implementing two of its most ambitious climate policies to date: one that limits carbon emissions for fuel suppliers and utilities, and another that calls for lower carbon emissions from transportation fuels.
Lawmakers passed the Climate Commitment Act and the Clean Fuel Standard by 2021, helping Washington meet its proposed greenhouse gas reduction targets. The state must reduce emissions by 45% below 1990 levels by 2030 and move towards zero emissions by 2050.
Gov. Jay Inslee attended a briefing Wednesday detailing the initiatives.
“The state is taking a big bite out of climate change at the same time we’re building our economy,” Inslee said.
The incident comes a week after the state released disappointing carbon emissions data for 2019, its most recent. That year’s greenhouse gas emissions were the highest since 2007, but were still below the historic peak set in 1999. Officials said rising electricity demand combined with low water levels behind the state’s hydroelectric dams required more fossil-fueled power. year.
The Washington Department of Ecology, which compiles and reports the emissions data, said preliminary numbers for 2020 suggest “the increase may be short-lived.”
State leaders hope the two new policies and others passed in recent years will push Washington’s carbon footprint on a sustainable, downward trend.
Inslee points to the synergy between technological innovation and climate policy as a key factor in the state’s optimism that it can reach its goals.
“These [clean energy] Technologies are now becoming more affordable, more productive at the same time we have policies that will continue to accelerate the implementation and use of these technologies.
Inslee noted how the cost of solar panels, wind turbines and energy-saving batteries have dropped significantly over the years. The price of lithium batteries, however, recently increased for the first time in more than a decade. Experts say that the price of raw materials and inflation are the cause of the inflation.
Pacific Northwest entrepreneurs are fueling climate technology innovation in batteries, nuclear fission and fusion energy, electric aviation, grid energy transmission and green hydrogen.
Tech giants including Amazon and Microsoft are investing in startups in these sectors, buying many of these technologies and supporting some of Washington’s climate policies. Amazon was a supporter of the Clean Fuel Standard Act and Microsoft came out in support of the Climate Commitment Act.
California, Oregon and British Columbia have adopted clean fuel standards. The policy requires fuel suppliers to reduce the carbon footprint of transport fuels. You can accomplish this by making fuel production more efficient; Incorporating low carbon biofuels into their mix; and by purchasing credits produced by suppliers of low-carbon fuel and electric vehicle charging.
The Climate Commitments Act outlines a capital and investment program in which fuel suppliers and utilities — and later waste-to-energy utilities and railroads — bid for allowances that allow for greenhouse gas emissions. The amount of allowance will decrease over time. Funds raised in allowance auctions are channeled into carbon-cutting efforts. California is currently the only US state with a similar carbon cap program.
The first quarter auction for allowance is February 28.
