Fighting Climate Change & Its Effects
Climate Change

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions, put a price on carbon, and enact measures to promote climate resiliency.  

Issue Team Chair: Martin Gibbins, mgibbins@lwvwa.org, (425) 361-5007 (Lead),                                                         Phyllis Farrell, pfarrell@lwvwa.org, (360) 789-8307
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2020 Legislative Session Wrap Up

    (Interested in the 2019 Session Recap? Click Here)

    The League believes that global climate change is one of the most serious threats facing our nation and planet today. Climate change is having a significant effect on Washington State's natural and economic landscape. Addressing climate change impacts will require a sustained commitment to integrating climate information into legislation and government programs and services.

    The League supports measures that promote clean energy and clean transportation, energy efficient buildings, the expansion of renewable energy and other measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote climate resiliency.

    The 2020 Legislative Session ended March 12 with several important climate victories, and with more climate work still needing to be done.
    Click on Bill # for detailed information. See UPDATES below
    Bills the League Supported That Have Been Signed Into Law
    • HB 2311  (Climate Pollution Reductions) Amending GHG emissions limits for consistency with recent climate science. This bill was an important Climate priority. Governor signed March 19,2020.
    • SB 5947 Establishing the sustainable farms and fields grant program. This is an important farm bill victory allowing State Conservation Commission to distribute funds to local conservation districts to support voluntary sustainable farming projects. Governor signed April 3, 2020.
    • SB 5811 (Clean Car bill) Reducing emissions by making changes to the clean car standards and clean car program. This bill was an important Climate priority. Governor signed March 25, 2020.
    • HB 2405  (C-PACER bill) Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resilience. facilitates a public-private partnership for financing energy efficiency retrofits and new construction.  Governor signed March 18, 2020.

    Bills the League Supported That Did Not Pass
    • SHB 1110 /  SB 5412 (Clean Fuel Standards bill)  Reduces greenhouse gas emissions with transportation fuels. UPDATE:  HB 1110 passed the House but stalled in the House Transportation Committee.  This bill was a climate priority and will be brought back next year.  Washington State needs to align with similar Clean Fuel Standards laws in California, Oregon and Washington State to reduce transportation emissions

    • HB 2427 Tackling Climate Change as Part of Growth Management Act  UPDATE: Passed House;  but did not make it out of committee in the Senate. There were discussions for a proviso in the budget that would appropriate funds for the Department of Commerce to implement a stakeholder process to make recommendations for legislation to update the GMA in response to issues identified by the  Ruckelshaus Study Road Map to Washington's Future which included recommendations to address climate change in GMA and incorporate environmental justice goals into the GMA.  Sadly, this bill did not pass cutoff.

    • SB 5981 Greenhouse Cap and Trade UPDATE: Establishes a cap and trade program for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be implemented by the Department of Ecology. Requires the program to limit GHG emissions to meet statewide GHG emission levels as revised for 2035 and 2050. Specifies distribution of auction revenues to specified energy efficiency projects, assistance to low-income households and highly impacted communities, and climate change impacts and natural resource resiliency Trade. The LWV supports putting a price on carbon, but had concerns about the impacts to vulnerable communities. UPDATE: Did not pass policy committee cutoff

    • HB 2892 (Governor’s Clean Air Authority bill) 

    • HB 1113 Aligns Washington State's greenhouse gas reduction goals with the 2015 Paris Agreement and current climate change science assessments. 

    • HB 1597 Integrates the natural gas upstream emissions rate and global warming potential rule into other environmental and energy laws.

    • HB 2379  Sulfur hexafluoride emission reduction

    • HB 2472  Incorporating GHG measurements from fossil fuels in state environmental laws

    • HB 2609 / SB 6335 Addressing Climate Change through Growth Management.

    • HB 2829 Declaring a Climate Emergency 

    • HB 2744 (Buy Clean bill) Requires consideration of carbon intensity of materials purchased for public works projects. 

    • SB 6628/ HB 2957 (Gov Clean Air bill) Requires both direct and indirect emitters of greenhouse gases to comply with air quality standards and emission limits. 

    Bills the League Opposed That Did Not Survive

    • HB 1984 Designates food processing facilities as EIT for purposes of limiting GHG emissions
    • HB 1985 Regulatory relief from GHG rules for agriculture and food products.


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