Advocacy, Policy and Government Relations

Advocacy Updates Archive

• January 11, 2024

  This week begins the state legislative session in Olympia. For eight short weeks the Washington State Capitol fills with public hearings, hallway conversations, floor debates, and powerful storytellers advocating for policies and investments that shape the landscape of our state.
  

  The Nature Conservancy’s highest priority for the 2024 legislative session is ensuring the continued success of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). The CCA is a major milestone in Washington's climate policy, setting a limit on carbon pollution and reducing the cap each year until we reach a 95% reduction by 2050. As they reduce their overall emissions, polluters can buy a limited number of pollution allowances at the cap-and-invest auction. This revenue is then invested back into Washington to support our clean energy transition, bolster natural climate solutions, and improve climate resilience for Tribal nations and front-line communities.

  The CCA is an ambitious climate policy in the early stages of implementation, and its success is an essential piece of building climate resilience for communities across our state and contributing our piece to mitigate climate change on a global level. This legislative session, we are committed to protecting this legislation and supporting a strong implementation process. With this in mind, we have two focus areas for our 2024 state legislative agenda:

  Priority: Putting CCA investments to work for decarbonization, resilience, and justice

  Typically, short legislative sessions like this one are not known for big budget investments. The Washington State legislature writes their budget on a two-year cycle, alternating between writing a biennial budget during a longer session and passing a supplemental budget during the following short session. However, thanks to revenue from CCA’s cap-and-invest auctions, we have a unique opportunity this session to make meaningful investments toward the climate-resilient future we envision.

  We ask the state legislature to prioritize CCA revenue in the 24’ supplemental budgets towards the following requests:

  • Natural Climate Solutions investments for conservation, restoration, and improved management practices in forests, wetlands, and grasslands.
  • Invest in a Just Transition by reducing the financial burden of energy use and investing in the workforce development needed for a climate-friendly future.
  • Support the recommendations of the Environmental Justice Council, including funding for community-led decarbonization and energy resilience as well as infrastructure and land re-acquisition for Tribal climate adaptation and mitigation.
  • Pursue investments that attract federal climate funding for Washington communities, in alignment with Washington’s Federal Funding Roadmap.

  Priority: Holding the oil industry accountable

  Washington currently has no tools that provide transparency into how gas prices are set, or allow the state to interrupt potential unfair pricing practices that cause a financial burden to consumers. As oil companies mark record profits, understanding what goes into the price at the pump is an important consumer protection tool. Transparency can also help to daylight any false narratives that aim to halt climate progress for our state.

  HB 2232/SB 6052 will require the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to gather reporting of detailed pricing, profit margin, and transaction data held by fuel suppliers, refinery operators, and others in the transportation fuels supply chain – giving our state a needed tool to protect consumers from price gouging. Another critical tool in the proposed legislation is a provision to protect consumers from corporate “greenwashing,” when companies make false claims about their climate commitments to manipulate consumers.

  Honoring Legacy Investments

  While we work to uphold our state’s commitments to climate action, TNC continues to advocate for the legacy funding efforts that underpin meaningful conservation, restoration, and climate resilience projects across the state. These include: Forest Health & Wildlife Resilience (DNR, HB 1168), Stormwater Retrofits (WSDOT, Move Ahead WA), Washington Coastal Restoration & Resiliency Initiative (RCO), and Community Forests Grant Program (RCO).

  Commitment to partnership

  So much of what we do happens in partnership, and we are deeply committed to the shared priorities of the legislative coalitions we engage in. You can learn more about these priorities and opportunities to get involved here:

  • Environmental Priorities Coalition
  • WA Association of Land Trusts
  • WA Wildlife & Recreation Coalition
  • BlueGreen Alliance

  Join us!

  The 2024 legislative session will be short but mighty, and we hope you will join in to keep the momentum going for bold climate action in Washington! Throughout the legislative session we will share opportunities to make the needs and dreams of your community known to your elected representatives.

• April 18, 2024

  The Washington State Legislature has adjourned for the 2023 session, and our team is reflecting on some of our biggest successes, and where we can build to from here.
  

  Our teams worked tirelessly to advance our priorities and be a voice for nature in Olympia. This year we collectively testified at 36 committee hearings, signed in on the record supporting bills 58 times, were mentioned or quoted in five news articles, published one Letter to the Editor, and hosted two lobby days at the capitol. Public advocacy efforts resulted in over 2,200 emails sent from Washingtonians to their representatives on issues that matter most to them. Our advocacy efforts are strengthened by meaningful relationships with partners, and nonpartisan pursuit of effective, science-based policy. 

  MEETING THE NEED FOR CLIMATE SOLUTIONS IN BIENNIAL BUDGETS

  Thanks to revenue from the Climate Commitment Act, the State Legislature has made a historic level of investments in climate solutions- totaling over $2 billion in the next biennium. In the coming years Washingtonians will see the impacts across many aspects of daily life- expanded clean energy generation, more vehicle and home electrification, preserving and restoring ecosystem function, increasing community resilience to growing risk of wildfire, and centering and investing in those communities most vulnerable to climate impacts. 

  An area that we’re pleased to see expanding is natural climate solutions- how we respond to and improve climate conditions with our natural and working landscapes. Funding has been allocated to promote carbon storage potential in forest management practices, and the state will increase the acquisition of working forestlands for this purpose. The Legislature also increased grant funding for farmers to expand climate-smart agriculture solutions, and increased investments in salmon restoration efforts, including over $17 million for additional Floodplains by Design projects and $50 million towards riparian grant programs. 

  POLICY SPOTLIGHT: UPDATING THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT ACT

  The Growth Management Act is a critical tool for municipalities to plan ahead for population growth and land use. Previously, cities and counties conducting their comprehensive planning weren’t required to consider the impacts of a changing climate or the way land use decisions can contribute to our carbon footprint. But increased flooding, wildfire, heat domes, drought, and other extreme weather are destructive to our infrastructure and livelihoods, and will only worsen.

  "Comprehensive plan updates that are funded and take into account localized climate change impacts and pollution will have real, lasting benefits towards building community and ecosystem resilience."

  — Jamie Stroble, Climate Director for The Nature Conservancy in Washington

  HB 1181, which just passed this session, updates these planning requirements to incorporate climate change and provides tools and resources for our communities to best look ahead and make decisions for the future. Using comprehensive planning to proactively reduce GHG and vehicle miles traveled and prepare communities for climate impacts will increase our health and resilience. This bill was championed by Representatives Duerr and Fitzgibbon, Senator Lovelett, and our partner Futurewise, and has been a top priority for the Environmental Priorities Coalition for the past few sessions. We’re thrilled to see it across the finish line this year.  

  POLICIES TO FURTHER CLIMATE AND CONSERVATION ACTION

  • Establishing an interagency clean energy siting coordination council to help improve siting and permitting of clean energy projects. One aim for this is to ensure that impacted communities and Tribal Nations have a voice and to mitigate impacts to natural and working lands. An additional bill directs planning for energy generation and transmission expansion to ensure Washington has a connected, affordable, and reliable clean energy grid. 

  • Establishing the Washington Climate Corps Network, which will expand workforce opportunities in clean energy and natural resource sectors through service opportunities, especially for young adults and veterans.  

  • Important updates were made to the Trust Land Transfer tool, allowing DNR to preserve state trust lands that aren’t revenue-generating but provide important community benefits.   

  • Sustained resources to address the increasing threat of wildfire across the state, and help communities be better prepared to adapt, respond, and recover.  

  HOW CAN WE BUILD ON THIS PROGRESS

  Now that the legislature has made the first allocations of Climate Commitment Act revenue, the next step will be propping up new programs created, conducting necessary rulemaking, and actually implementing these solutions. One area we’re especially engaged in is the Air Quality Health Disparities Investment Account. Funding has been allocated for increased community grants and participatory budget processes and, in collaboration with partners, we’ll continue to advocate for increased monitoring infrastructure to best understand localized pollution and its impacts.  

  Continued priorities will be increased climate-smart agricultural practices, expanding the clean energy grid, and supporting the transition to a clean energy economy for all impacted communities. We also will likely see a continued focus on riparian habitat protection and restoration, which received important funding this year. Additionally, as the Climate Commitment Act conducts future credit auctions, we will have a better understanding of the revenue we can expect and will continue to advocate for the best use of those dollars.  

  Thank you to every individual and organization who spoke up for nature in the legislative session this year. Whether you submitted comments on a bill, emailed your representative, joined a lobby day, or supported us on social media, your engagement makes an impact!  

• October 25, 2022

  Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) goes into effect on January 1, 2023. This marks an important moment, but the work isn’t over yet!
  

  When it was just a bill, we worked alongside many partners and legislative champions advocating for the CCA to be as strong and equitable as possible. As the law takes effect this winter, we all — including you! — can continue to speak up to help it live up to its promise to communities across our state.

  THE BASICS

  The CCA provides three key pathways to meet our state’s goal of Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050: 

  • A greenhouse gas reduction program that puts a declining cap on emissions
  • An expanded statewide air quality program with new monitoring and enforcement mechanisms
  • More than $7 billion in revenue for new green infrastructure and climate resilience measures

   

   

  REDUCING EMISSIONS

  The Cap & Invest program puts a declining cap on the emissions big businesses operating in Washington are allowed to emit each year. These businesses can buy or trade credits to exceed the cap temporarily, while working toward the same Net Zero goal by 2050. This program will raise revenue through the use of allowances, with limited flexibility for the use of both allowances and offsets.

  WHAT ARE ALLOWANCES + OFFSETS?

  1 allowance = 1 metric ton of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

  Businesses that emit 25,000 tons or more of GHGs annually must bid to purchase allowances at state auctions in order to operate in Washington. They can face significant daily penalties for violations. The number of allowances available for auction declines each year toward the goal of Net Zero by 2050.

  An offset is a reduction in GHG emissions – or an increase in carbon storage (e.g.,through land restoration or the planting of trees) – that is used to compensate for emissions that occur elsewhere. An offset credit is certified by independent authorities to represent an emission reduction of one metric ton of CO2.

  HELPING OUR COMMUNITIES BREATHE EASIER

  A key critique of California's Cap & Trade program has been that it hasn’t reduced health-harming criteria pollutants, including carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and particulates. To address this concern in Washington, the CCA includes a more expansive air quality program that covers all permitted and unregulated sources of emissions, not just the largest emitters. With a special emphasis on overburdened communities, the CCA’s air quality program will:

  • Identify all communities overburdened by air pollution in Washington state
  • Expand and improve the air monitoring network statewide
  • Set air quality goals for these overburdened communities
  • Conduct regular analysis to ensure air quality compliance  
  • Give the Dept. of Ecology the power to enforce air quality standards against polluters

  WHAT ARE OVERBURDENED COMMUNITIES?

  In state law, overburdened communities are defined as a geographic area where people are exposed to environmental pollutants or contaminants through multiple pathways, which may result in significant adverse health outcomes or effects.

  PUTTING THE “INVEST” IN “CAP & INVEST”

  By 2037, the CCA’s Cap & Invest emissions reduction credit program will create an estimated $7 billion or more in revenue that the state must explicitly use for green infrastructure, public transit, electrification, and other climate resiliency investments. Of this money:

  • $5.2 billion must go toward emissions reductions (i.e. public transit/electrification funding)

  • The rest — $2 billion or more — will go toward climate resilience investments, including those meant to help ensure a just, equitable transition to a clean energy economy. One quarter (25%) of this resilience funding will go toward natural climate solutions like green infrastructure.

  Additionally, each biennium, the CCA will provide:

  • $20 million for improving air quality

  • $5 million for Tribal offset project development

  • $10 million for forest & agricultural riparian easements

  • $50 million for Tribal mitigation & adaptation projects

  WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN SHAPING THIS LAW?

  The Department of Ecology is currently shaping the air quality program in the CCA -- including soliciting comments from the public. You and your neighbors are invited to submit recommendations for the program directly to Ecology staff, who will take them into consideration as they finalize elements of the program. 

  You can help Ecology define the indicators they’ll use to identify overburdened communities, choose the types of air monitors they’ll deploy, and understand how your community would like to see air quality improved.

• May 3, 2021

  The Health Environment for All (HEAL) Act is one of the most meaningful commitments lawmakers made in the landmark 2021 Washington state legislative session.
  

  It stands with groundbreaking climate policy, a forward-looking capital budget and dozens of other bills that are crucial to realizing our vision of a world where people and nature thrive.

  The Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act is a first step toward ensuring that communities overburdened by pollution and other environmental risks can begin to recover, so children and adults alike can breathe cleaner air, drink cleaner water and all have a chance at a healthier future.

  Introduced and championed by 37th District Senator Rebecca Saldaña, the bill implements many of the recommendations from the state’s Environmental Justice Task Force. In 2020, the Task Force issued a report of findings from years of work with community leaders and voices from community listening groups across the state. Thanks to the time and generosity of groups and individuals across Washington, advocates led by Front and Centered brought a strong, thoughtfully crafted policy with broad support to the Legislature in 2021.

  With Governor Inslee’s signature, the HEAL Act will help Washington state finally begin to bring environmental and climate policy and practices in line with environmental justice principles. Among the recommendations implemented by the HEAL Act are: 

  • Defining environmental justice (EJ) in state law as not just a process of bringing impacted communities into government processes, but also of equitably distributing the benefits of policy and government investments;
  • Requiring that state agencies conduct an environmental justice analysis when developing policy, writing regulations and planning transportation and capital projects to maximize benefits and minimize harm for overburdened communities;
  • Setting a goal for agencies to allocate 35% of their budgets to serving the communities and geographies most impacted by pollutants and environmental degradation; and codifying a requirement for community engagement in future planning processes;
  • Creating and funding an Environmental Justice Council to provide guidance and accountability to communities for state agencies as they incorporate environmental justice into their work; and
  • Maintaining the Environmental Health Disparities map tool to inform future investments and progress on alleviating the health burdens of pollution on communities.

   

  The HEAL Act has set a new standard for inclusive, effective policymaking in Olympia, touching down in every corner of the state. We are grateful to Front and Centered’s member organizations and allies from across Washington, whose persistence and vision made this major step forward possible.