Washington state’s wildly successful carbon cap-and-invest program has generated $2.2 billion for improvements in transportation, water quality, school buildings, and more. I-2117 will dismantle those and many other positive results for our health and environment.
The purpose of Washington’s market-based cap-and-invest program is to reduce carbon emissions of the state’s largest polluters. It was created by the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) to generate funds from polluting businesses to mitigate the harmful impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Businesses that do not sufficiently reduce their emissions face increasing compliance costs, so investing in cleaner operations is good business.
Putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions
Carbon dioxide emissions come with a social cost of carbon (SCC), which estimates the economic and environmental damages caused by those emissions. For each ton of emissions the damages range from $43 to $190, with the highest value proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. If the cost of implementing a policy is calculated to be less than the SCC, it is considered beneficial and will pay for itself in the long run.
Washington state’s SCC since 2020 is $88, and projected to be $96 in 2025. The $2.2 billion collected thus far from the the state’s top polluters by law must be invested in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or fund climate resilience and adaptation to counter the increasing threats caused by the climate emergency.
Approving I-2117 removes badly needed funding
Initiative 2117 would cut more than $5.4 billion from:
- Replacing the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River, finishing the 520 bridge, and improving freight access to the ports.
- Replacing the aging ferry system.
- Other badly needed transportation solutions.
Initiative 2117 would cut an estimated $1 billion from:
- Statewide free public transit for youth to get to school, work, and home.
- Funding to install and update ventillation, heating, air conditioning, and other improvements in public schools.
- Community-led projects to improve air quality and stop the expansion of the state’s air quality monitoring network.
Initiative I-2117 would cut millions of dollars from salmon habitat restoration projects, including financial incentives for farmers to restore native vegetation along streams where salmon spawn, as well as other programs designed to remove barriers for migrating salmon.
Just vote no on I-2117
The “yes” campaign likely will focus on high gasoline prices or other higher costs — all of which are influenced by the economic complexity of why costs rise or fall, including corporate greed that led to California’s Gas Price Gouging law. The benefits of the CCA’s cap-and-invest program has been a great success generating funds from the state’s top polluters and investing those funds to fix our aging infrastructure and facilitate our transition away from fossil-fuel dependency. The health benefits alone are worth it.
