Interactive map tracks Climate Commitment Act investments to show ‘risk of repeal’

They call it a “treasure map” that shows the “risk of repeal,” if voters approve Initiative 2117 , to roll back Washington state’s landmark Climate Commitment Act.

The Clean and Prosperous Institute has worked for years to develop and defend the act. Members of the wide coalition of groups behind it say the interactive map is a result of the data tracking they have engaged in for years, to ensure that investments in things like electric school buses or air monitoring systems are effective in the fight against climate change.

They now have $1.5 billion worth of spending laid out – with multiple filters so that anyone can search for projects in a certain region or see where certain types of investments have landed in the state.

“Residents and businesses don't have time to sort through all the budget details of $2.7 billion of allocation,” said Michael Mann, executive director of Clean and Prosperous Washington.

Supporters of the repeal effort say the state's cap and invest system has pushed energy prices up, especially the price of gasoline, creating an unfair burden on lower income earners in Washington. They argue Washington's Climate Commitment Act has been ineffective in helping the state reach it's emissions reduction goals.

The measure would also bar state agencies from imposing any type of program involving the trading of carbon tax credits in the future.

The Clean and Prosperous Institute's map is designed for voters to do a personalized cost-benefit analysis — and shine a light on where the money is going. Mann said this public information campaign is the best way to defend the law in the current election, and in the future.

“It's really important to do the math and do the homework to see what the Climate Commitment Act is investing in — in schools and neighborhoods and communities across the state,” he said.

The map also ranks projects by risk level, to show which ones would likely be eliminated, and which might continue, if the law is repealed.

So far, the state’s auctions of carbon allowances have raised around $2.15 billion in revenue. The latest quarterly auction , in early September, was the last one before voters decide on the initiative. The price came in at its lowest level ever.

Initiative backers said this was due to uncertainty because of the looming repeal. But Mann said the latest price prepares the exchange to integrate with its counterparts in California and Quebec. This was planned from the outset, because being part of a larger network will make the credit system more effective.

“What you can see in the marketplace right now is an aligning of those prices. [On the] California, Quebec market, [the] third quarter price allowance settlement price was $30 – a little over $30. Ours was just a little under $30, “ Mann said.

That $30 price is the current cost of an allowance for one ton of carbon emissions. Under the Climate Commitment Act , all of that money must be spent on reducing emissions and helping communities adapt to climate change.

Initiative 2117 will appear on Washington's 2024 November ballot, which will be mailed out to voters by October 18.