By Todd Reeve, CEO of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and James Schroeder, Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy in Washington
Earth Day ignited our collective awareness of challenges facing people and nature, and spurred unparalleled legislative action bringing us cleaner air and water. Five decades later, Washingtonians face an important crossroad: our climate future will be on the ballot this November as Initiative 2117 which would repeal Washington’s most comprehensive climate legislation, the Climate Commitment Act (CCA).
From mega wildfires to declining salmon runs and a recent natural disaster declaration for Washington’s iconic cherry crop, communities across the state are seeing direct impacts of climate change. This inflection point will determine Washington’s climate future, either by securing a foundation for climate action or derailing climate progress. The climate emergency demands urgent and thoughtful action, and investments at all levels of federal, state and local governments; the CCA is Washington’s contribution. It requires polluters to pay for and steadily reduce their carbon pollution while investing those dollars in the people and communities bearing the brunt of climate change—Indigenous communities, communities of color, and rural, natural resource-dependent communities. From expanding air pollution monitoring to funding wildfire resilience, the CCA is addressing the leading climate and environmental concerns of communities across Washington.
As climate change exacerbates the risk and severity of floods, Floodplains by Design brings together communities, Tribal Nations, local governments, and, NGOs to create a more resilient future for people and nature. © Marlin Greene/One Earth Images
Among these threats is the rise of severe floods which increasingly impact Washington’s rural and urban communities, and landscapes both coastal and riverine, requiring significant investment in climate adaptation through floodplain management. In total $17.4 million of CCA funding has been allocated to Washington’s Floodplains by Design program to advance three significant projects, from Methow to Skagit Valleys, the Pacific Coast to the Columbia River estuary, reducing flood risk, making communities healthier and helping them recover faster in the face of more frequent and destructive floods. Together, these projects will reduce flood risk for 62 homes and businesses, while restoring 865 acres of floodplain, and 9.6 miles of salmon streams. These are more than statistics; these are the real-world impacts of climate adaptation.
On the Olympic coast, the Quileute Tribe is experiencing sea level rise, changes to the river and floodplain, and declining salmon populations. The Historic Oxbow Project on the Quillayute River will restore the natural bend (oxbow) of the river and create stream diversions that slow the water, diverting the path of water away from the Quileute community and enhancing habitat that is critical for salmon habitat restoration. CCA will also support the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, whose East Fork Lewis River Reconnection Project will protect critical infrastructure, local homes and businesses, and provide a lifeline to struggling salmon. By leveraging CCA dollars, restoration of these lands and waters will save these communities and the state nearly $122 million in prevented damages, since every $1 invested in flood-resilience saves $7 in disaster recovery (National Institute of Building Sciences 2022).
The health of Washington’s rivers are essential to the lives of people and salmon, restoring floodplains reduces the flood risk to farms and communities while improving habitat for wildlife. © Ingrid Taylor/TNC
In just over a year, the CCA has raised $2 billion for climate action, outpacing initial estimates and creating new opportunities to support the resilience of communities and nature in Washington. The scale of these investments is just the start for Washington state. The CCA, combined with federal infrastructure dollars such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will create new opportunities for local climate action with Washington as a model for the nation and the world.
We must ensure the CCA remains in place as the foundation for continued investments in climate adaptation and resilience. The CCA is not perfect and improvements are essential to ensure benefits go to the communities that are already seeing the first and worst impacts of climate change, but the CCA investments are having profound impacts. We must reject I-2117 to accelerate climate progress and create a more resilient future for all Washingtonians.
This Earth Day, show your commitment to the planet by learning how the Climate Commitment Act is helping communities across Washington. And commit to progress by voting no on 2117 this November.
Sponsored by No on 2117, PO Box 21961, Seattle, WA 98111
