Nives Dolsak is Stan and Alta Barer Professor in Sustainability Science and Director of the School of Marine & Environmental Affairs. Aseem Prakash is the Walker Family Professor and the Director of the Center for Environmental Politics. Both are at the University of Washington, Seattle.
law that will reduce carbon emissions, decrease pollution, boost jobs and increase public health, Washington state’s 2021 Climate Commitment Act capped carbon emissions and established the emission trading system .
It is in danger of getting repealed in November via a public referendum but imposes local costs . With inflation and economic insecurity, voters are less willing to bear these costs, even when they think climate change is an important policy issue. This is the key political problem that Washington state’s CCA, and decarbonization policy in general, confront., the State House was controlled by Democrats and the State Senate by Republicans. This division made it difficult to enact climate policy via legislative means.Using the initiative/referendum process, a newly minted environmental group, Carbon Washington, placed a carbon tax on the ballot in 2016 . Because citizens might fear that governments are using climate change as a ploy to increase taxes, this measure was designed to be revenue-neutral, where the carbon tax proceeds were to be used to lower other taxes. Interestingly, I-732 was opposed by mainstream environmental groups and fossil fuel companies. I-732 was defeated 40.7%-59.3%.on the ballot. Unlike I-732, it proposed a revenue-positive carbon tax where the fee proceeds were to be spent on a variety of climate programs. I-1631 lost 43.5%-56.5%. Importantly, in the same election, Washingtonians reelected Senator Maria Caldwell by a 58.5%-41.5% margin. Compared to Caldwell's vote share, I-1631 suffered a vote erosionthat motivates opposition), the CCA capped carbon emissions and created an emission trading system. Under the CCA’s Cap and Invest, key emitters are required to purchase emission allowances at an auction. This has generated substantial revenue: for the 2023-2025 biennium, the Washington State legislature has appropriatedCap and Invest is a hidden tax. However, in politics, stuff seldom remains hidden. As gasoline prices in the state of Washington began to increase in 2023, conservatives promptly blamed it on the CCA. By some estimates , Cap and Invest allegedly added about 50 cents to the price of a gallon of gasoline as fuel distributors passed on emission allowance costs to consumers. Governor Insleegas price behind Hawaii and California . Because gas prices are displayed prominently by gas stations, motorists see them frequently. And they certainly notice them every time they pump gas. By some measures,Because many voters blame high gas prices on the CCA, conservatives saw the political opportunity for repealing the CCA via a public referendum. Three pieces of evidence suggest that this repeal via I-2117 might succeed.Second, liberal politicians running for office do not want to associate themselves with the CCA. Instead of waving the CCA flag, thehas emphasized that it is funded by the CCA’s revenues. This announcement is interesting for its timing and form. In Washington, residential electricity bills tend to beSo, why announce a measure when the problem salience is low? Moreover, the CCA is criticized for its impact on gasoline prices, not electricity costs. So why an electricity rebate as opposed to say suspendinggasoline sales tax? Might the timing of the rebate announcement be an attempt to move public attention away from gasoline prices to safer issues such as electricity bills?The CCA saga shows that governments may find it difficult to persuade voters to incur new costs to pay for a global public good. While individuals may favor more aggressive climate policy . Instead, they spend political capital talking about the benefits generated by taxes. This is similar to “your tax dollars at work” signage on major highway projects. Voters frequently authorize their counties and cities to float new bonds to fund new schools and other infrastructure projects. All US statesIncreasingly, CCA defenders are talking about benefits but they probably have invested too much political capital in disputing whether the CCA led to the gasoline price hike. No wonder, the CCA debate remains framed in terms of its alleged gasoline costs and not the very tangible local benefits that the CCA revenues create.Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kindContinuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejectedAttempts or tactics that put the site security at riskProtect your community.
Climate Policy Cap And Invest Climate Commitment Act Jay Inslee Carbon Pricing Carbon Taxes $200 Electricity Rebate Gasoline Prices I-2117
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Will Trump 2.0 Hinder Climate Progress?Nives Dolsak is Stan and Alta Barer Professor in Sustainability Science and Director of the School of Marine & Environmental Affairs. Aseem Prakash is the Walker Family Professor and the Director of the Center for Environmental Politics. Both are at the University of Washington, Seattle.
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