Full Title: Washington State’s Climate Commitment Act: A model for ambitious climate policy
Author(s): Environmental Defense Fund
Publisher(s): Environmental Defense Fund
Publication Date: May 18, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
On May 17, 2021, Governor Inslee signed the Climate Commitment Act, a bold cap-and-invest bill, into law. This legislation solidifies Washington state as a national climate leader with the most ambitious limit on emissions of any state in the nation. Washington is the second state, behind California, to place a binding, declining emissions limit across all major sectors of its economy and translate its climate goals into a policy framework designed to fully deliver.
The Climate Commitment Act sets a new gold standard for climate policy because it slashes greenhouse gas emissions at the pace and scale necessary to meet the urgency of the climate crisis, and it provides new tools to address local air pollution in overburdened communities. It also complements and supercharges Washington state’s existing climate policies in the power sector, buildings, transportation and more. Here are major features of this bill that provide a policy model for other states.