The 2024 session of the Washington State Legislature has wrapped up, and at The Nature Conservancy in Washington we are celebrating new investments in the transition to a clean energy economy and a climate-resilient future for all Washingtonians. A vast majority of these investments were funded by the state’s landmark climate policy, the Climate Commitment Act (CCA).
Yet persistent efforts to undermine the CCA made this session complex and unique. David Mendoza, TNC’s director of policy & government relations, joins Sarah Brady, policy communications director, in a conversation about the lessons learned this session and the pivotal moment we are in as a climate justice movement.
So much of the conversation this session focused on the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) – our state’s landmark climate policy, passed in 2021. What should we know about the influence of the CCA during this session?
The level of investments made with revenues from CCA’s cap-and-invest auctions are unprecedented, and I don’t say that lightly. We’re talking about billions of dollars towards decarbonization, renewable energy, climate resilience, clean air and water, healthy communities, healthy forests, and economic support for those most impacted by the transition. Exciting investments made this year include a $50M grant program for community-led clean energy projects, funding to electrify school buses, support for communities with high wildfire risk, and resources to help our communities access federal climate funding.
The Natural Climate Solutions Account is one aspect of the CCA that we care about a lot at TNC. This is dedicated funding for nature-based solutions to the climate crisis. This year the account funded projects in forest-based carbon sequestration, “blue carbon” (carbon captured by ocean and coastal ecosystems), and climate-smart agriculture. There are so many ways nature can be a climate solution, and it’s great to see the legislature recognize the broad range of opportunities.
A top priority for The Nature Conservancy this session was a $25 million investment for the Quinault Indian Nation. We were invited by the Quinault to partner on this ask for the Natural Climate Solutions Account to support the buy-back of 11,000 acres of forestland within their Reservation that fell into private ownership during the Allotment Era. This project would allow for over 3 million additional metric tons of carbon to be stored across the Quinault Nation’s lands over the next 20 years.
Examples like this show what is possible with the Natural Climate Solutions Account and the CCA – they offer a golden opportunity for projects that uphold Tribal sovereignty, store carbon on a significant scale, and support both local communities and ecosystem health.
We also had to respond to a number of bills attempting to weaken the CCA. And we are facing our biggest challenge yet with Initiative 2117, which would repeal the CCA outright.
TNC trustees and staff travel to Olympia for advocacy day.
Credit: Scott Richards
How big of a deal was it when Initiative 2117 qualified for the ballot back in January?
From our perspective, the threat of Initiative 2117 to repeal the CCA really set the stage for the entire session. If Initiative 2117 were to pass in November, it would be a devastating blow to efforts to reduce carbon pollution and tackle the climate crisis, not to mention the impact to our state budget. This election will ripple out to the broader climate justice movement too. Other states are watching to see if the CCA can hold up to a ballot challenge, and what happens in Washington will shape the political will to pass big climate action in other jurisdictions.
In addition to repealing the CCA, this initiative would prohibit Washington from passing any kind of carbon pricing in the future. This would put us in a near-impossible place to reduce emissions, fund a transition to a green economy, and support communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Our state would almost certainly fail to meet our 2030 Paris Treaty-aligned goals. While we have real work to do to make sure the CCA fulfills its commitments to the people of Washington, we need the CCA standing strong to see that vision through.
We’ve been wary of attempts to weaken the CCA since its passage in 2021. Can you share some concerns TNC had going into this session?
We definitely knew threats to the CCA were coming this session. By our count, there were roughly two dozen bills this session that could have impacted the CCA. For example, a proposal with oil industry support would have restructured the way the cap on carbon emissions is set, pushing significant carbon pollution reductions further into the future.
I’m happy to say that the bills that posed the biggest threats to the integrity of the CCA were unsuccessful. It took a lot of vigilance and conversations with decision-makers to continue to focus on the vision of the CCA. This session was a reminder that passing bold policy involves persistence and follow-through to ensure the policy stays strong in law and in implementation.
TNC staff Skippy Shaw, Darcy Batura, and Tonya Morrey advocate for forest health and wildfire resilience investments in Olympia.
Credit: Skippy Shaw
Can you give us a sense of what’s next for climate policy, and what this moment means for the climate justice movement?
Without a doubt, from now to November will be all about defeating Initiative 2117. This looks like amplifying real-life stories about the impact the CCA, and energizing communities to vote and protect it. To do this, we need a broad coalition. Climate change touches every community - labor, transportation, youth, rural, urban, migrant communities, and more. We need a campaign that paints all of us into the picture.
At the same time, there is important implementation work related to the CCA ahead of us. The Environmental Justice Council continues to advise the implementation of the CCA, ensuring dollars go to Tribal Nations and community-led resilience projects benefiting people on the frontlines of climate change. State agencies are preparing to create new rules for air quality and to combine Washington’s carbon reduction program with those in California and Quebec. There is work underway to support the build out of renewable energy at the scale and speed needed, and in a way that benefits host communities and environments and protects tribal cultural resources. TNC is also committed to building a strategy for our state’s Natural Climate Solutions Account. Science shows that the CCA and other state climate laws get us 95% of the way to net zero emissions. Nature plays a big role in closing that gap, but we need a strategy to make sure state investments are supporting nature’s work effectively.
As a movement we have to get really comfortable with this split mindset - building the world we want to see while simultaneously fighting to protect all that we have. We are truly at a make-or-break moment for climate policy, and I hope that everyone will join us in the campaign to protect the CCA and our future.
Capitol Campus Legislative Building.
Credit: Hannah Letinich
