Four Ways Gov.-elect Ferguson and Washington Lawmakers Can Build on the State's Big Climate Win

Voters in Washington state delivered a resounding endorsement of climate action on Tuesday. They overwhelmingly rejected Initiative 2117, which would have repealed the state’s cap-and-invest law, the Climate Commitment Act. In fact, as of the latest ballot count, with 80 percent of votes counted, Washingtonians opted to keep the Climate Commitment Act by a bigger margin than the one by which the dependably blue state voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. A signal of widespread support to prioritize climate action—and not go backward—even sounded from places in Washington that Donald Trump won handily, like Spokane County.

As of this writing, the other anti-climate ballot initiative, Initiative 2066, which would roll back the state’s efforts to power buildings with clean electricity instead of burning gas, is still too close to call. Confusion over the double negative language of that ballot measure, deceptive booster messaging about what it would do, a less well-funded “no” campaign than the one focused on defeating I-2117, and a (misleading, error-ridden) “yes” endorsement from the Seattle Times likely all contributed to I-2066 being a far closer race than that for I-2117. Still, that votes on I-2066 are so close—51 percent in favor and 49 percent against—is indicative of support for climate action among a broad swath of Washingtonians. (If I-2066 passes, it is also likely to face legal challenges in the coming months.)

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With federal climate action likely at a standstill (at best) over the next four years, Washington can keep moving forward. Below, Sightline outlines four ways that Governor-elect Bob Ferguson and Washington lawmakers can model climate action for the rest of the United States, including:

1. Round out the Climate Commitment Act to fulfill what the legislature and voters intend for it to do: cut pollution, including from gas utilities and big polluting facilities, and uphold its environmental justice commitments.

2. Advance climate action at the Utilities and Transportation Commission, which regulates investor-owned gas utilities, including by appointing a climate champion as commissioner.

3. Build the grid Washington needs to support its clean energy future.

4. Double down on neighborhood-scale thermal energy networks, the highly efficient carbon-free networks of water pipes and ground-source heat pumps that are popular with environmental, labor, and consumer advocates.