Along with other recently enacted legislation, the Climate Commitment Act (the CCA) is essential to achieving our
mandated greenhouse gas reductions. The CCA enacts fees (via allowance auctions) on greenhouse gas gas (GHG) emissions in WA. Along with the usual climate-warming emissions, other environment and health degrading emissions often also occur, such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. Governments regulate such emissions to minimize them as economically as possible, but we seldom consider the external costs and damage and the associated future cost. The cost of allowances encourages emitters to reduce their emissions.
The CCA enables our state's GHG profile to have the biggest reduction of any other state policy targeting climate change. If repealed, we will not achieve the legislative-mandated emission reduction goals.
The CCA allowance sales become revenue that we invest to correct past damage and encourage energy efficiency. Such investments include clean transportation, clean buildings, clean energy, and reducing pollution in overburdened communities. Investments help landlords and low-income homeowners increase household energy efficiency. Some of the revenue is also added to the state's transportation budget. If I-2117 succeeds, and the CCA is repealed, that funding will disappear and we will need to transfer funding within the budget or terminate the investments. This map shows where investments from the CCA's revenue are making a difference and benefiting areas across the state. Voting NO on I-2117 is a vote to continue the CCA.
The most prominent objection to recent energy and emission legislation is the perceived effect on gasoline prices. Petroleum is a global commodity, which means world supplies and events have a large effect on the price of petroleum products like gasoline. (When we achieve full electrification and renewable energy, we will be free from global energy market manipulation and price swings.)
WA taxes gasoline at $0.45 per gallon, collected and paid by the fuel distributors. The petroleum refiners must purchase the allowances required to offset the emissions their product emits. This represents just one of their costs of doing business, and the industry decides how to offset those costs: reduce emissions, charge their customers part or all of those costs, or cover them with the profits to reduce their tax burden.
Because gasoline is a commodity, the industry prices it on what the market will bear, and to optimize profits. Recent estimates for profits on a gallon of gasoline in WA is around 80 cents per gallon—in Texas it's around 50 cents per gallon. But, margins vary widely by season, with summer having the highest profit margins.
We experienced higher gasoline prices in 2008, 2011, and 2013 than in 2023 or 2024 after the CCA was implemented. The highest absolute gasoline prices in WA were in June of 2022, 6 months before the first CCA auctions. Nothing in I-2117 guarantees a gasoline price reduction.
Also, gasoline prices vary across our state, with the following recent per-gallon prices for regular: Bellingham $4.067, Tacoma $4.175, Spokane $3.856, and the Tri-Cities $3.947. All refineries in WA are on the west side of the mountains.
Talking Points:
The most effective way to influence the vote is to talk to your friends, family, and neighbors. They know you are knowledgeable on such issues and will probably trust your perspective more than the news sources.
Why should we vote against the initiatives and invest the CCA money now?
- As we reduce GHG emissions, other harmful pollutants decline as well—these include nitric oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulates.
- We invest the revenue to increase energy efficiency and to reduce environmental inequity.
- Fossil fuel pollution harms children the most.
- Because we are the beneficiaries of our strong economy which was built on cheap fossil fuels and many other aspects that we underpriced and deferred paying the full cost for into the future.
- The climate change future is here, right now. Further delay will cost us more than investing now.
Of course, WA state cannot end the climate crisis on our own. All nations, states, counties, and cities, worldwide must do their part. If we wait for others to go first, climate change will continue causing much more disruption in the next decades, more struggle and more cost of adaption. We cannot go backward; we cannot even delay.
Coalitions are coming together to oppose 2117, and they include: Climate Solutions, Conservation Northwest, Earth Ministry/WA Interfaith Power and Light, Methow Valley Citizens Council, Pudget Soundkeeper, Seattle Aquarium, The Nature Conservancy, The Lands Council, Washington Conservation Action, and many more. Each organization will speak with their own voice, as will the League.
The League opposes the I-2117 based on League positions, a few of which are:
- Climate change is a serious threat facing our nation and our planet.
- That state's short-term power needs should be met through implementation of a vigorous conservation program in which all energy users participate.
- The use of renewable energy systems such as solar, wind and recovery of energy from wastes should be actively encouraged.
A more comprehensive summary of the rationale for the LWVWA's opposition to I-2117 can be found in our issue paper.
