Washington and the world urgently need climate action, and that action must not be taken in a way that exacerbates harm in communities already overburdened by pollution and other impacts of climate change.
Black, brown and Indigenous communities bear disproportionate impacts of climate change and historic and ongoing pollution. Guided by our values and commitment to equity, we must work toward equitable climate action that leads to improved health and well-being for these communities, and avoid policies and actions that perpetuate or exacerbate harm.
Harvesting apples in Quincy. Photo by Cameron Karsten.
Halftime Report
Check in on the progress of our top priority bills this session, and take the chance to speak up for natural resources funding in the state budget.
As we seek the profound policy change that is needed at the state level, we have been in strong support of the Clean Fuel Standard, the HEAL Act, and other policies the Legislature is considering — policies that address climate change and prioritize reducing pollution burdens and improving health outcomes in communities that have borne a disproportionate share of environmental health risk for generations.
Given the urgent need for climate action, we have also signed in “Pro” in support of two carbon pricing proposals this session, the Climate Commitment Act (SB 5126) and Washington Strong (SB 5373) — both times with the caveat that we believe each bill needs stronger protections and investments in overburdened communities. Signing in “Pro” helps ensure our ability to continue negotiating the parameters for addressing the climate crisis and to encourage a full debate on the range of policy mechanisms available as bills move through the legislative process.
The Climate Commitment Act (CCA) has the potential to help Washington state make some of the progress we urgently need, and we are grateful for the ability to work with legislators to improve the policy as it continues to evolve. However, we are concerned that the bill may not significantly reduce greenhouse gas or co-pollutant emissions or sufficiently prevent and reduce harm to overburdened communities. We also acknowledge the direct opposition to cap-and-trade mechanisms by organizations representing frontline communities, and share their concerns that the bill as it stands today would not adequately protect the health of Washingtonians who have lived with outsized risk to their health for too long.
Seattle’s Duwamish Valley is home to a Superfund site and some of the worst environmental health outcomes in the state. Photo by Hannah Letinich.
There are several opportunities yet to improve upon the bill and create a law that will both reduce emissions and protect communities from additional harm. In order for us to support the policy moving forward, significant improvements must be made in the areas of cumulative pollution impacts, monitoring, regulatory authority, and limitations on allowances.
Any carbon pricing policy must be designed to actually reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and co-pollutants, and must at a minimum not increase the burden on communities whose health is already disproportionately at risk because of the unequal distribution of pollution. Any investments from pricing pollution should help improve the health and resilience of our communities and the natural systems on which we all depend.
While the CCA will cover many, but not all, large emitters in the state, an initial threshold of only covering entities that emit 25,000 metric tons of GHG pollution will mean that a number of companies, many operating in overburdened communities, will not be incentivized to reduce their pollution. For example, of the 19 permitted emitters in the Duwamish Valley, 17 won’t be covered by the CCA. This means that these companies will have no incentive or obligation to reduce either their GHG or co-pollutant emissions. The cumulative impact of these small emitters greatly contributes to the fact that the Duwamish Valley rates as one of the most polluted communities in the Washington state Environmental Health Disparities Map.
Washington’s Environmental Health Disparities Map uses census-tract data to illustrate the relationship between environmental health risks and socioeconomic factors. Click on the image to visit the interactive mapping tool at the Department of Health’s website.
In order to ensure pollution is reduced and health disparities are addressed, we are advocating for an upfront investment from the revenue created by the CCA to create a comprehensive air pollution monitoring network in overburdened communities across Washington. This early investment is critical to create a baseline understanding of the cumulative impact pollution from multiple sources of toxic emissions is having in communities like the Duwamish Valley.
Other crucial components of this legislation are an evaluation of the program by the Department of Ecology in 2025 and the authority granted to Ecology to regulate emitting entities to reduce GHG and co-pollutants. These recent additions to the policy are vital, but two major gaps remain in order to address concerns in overburdened communities:
The analysis to be conducted by Ecology in 2025 must be broadened to include an analysis of entities not covered by the CCA such as the 17 emitters in the Duwamish Valley. Without this analysis, there can be no true understanding of the impacts being felt by overburdened communities.
The authority granted to Ecology must include a goal of reducing co-pollutants and cancer risk in these communities in order to capture pollutants such as Particulate Matter 2.5mm and Nitrous Dioxide. To that end, we are advocating for a goal of reducing the cancer risk posed by emitters by 50% by 2034. This is a goal that is already in place in Oregon.
We are grateful for the opportunity to work with legislators on the improvements that have been already been made to this bill, such as the new requirement that any linkage between Washington and other jurisdictions can be made only if the Department of Ecology can show that no overburdened community would see negative impacts as a result of that linkage. It is our understanding that the sponsor of the CCA is seriously considering the amendments we are putting forward in order to ensure more equitable, just and effective climate legislation.
We are committed, globally and locally, to continuing a concerted, pragmatic and collaborative effort to address this urgent crisis with every tool we have while maintaining the highest possible standard of integrity. We look forward to helping to shape this and other policy proposals toward maximum benefit for people and nature for this and future generations.
Banner photo by Michael B. Maine
