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Lee Keller
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Lee@thekellergroup.com
FIRST AUCTION FOR WA’S CCA LAUNCHES
Expected Dollars Will Pay for Clean Energy Projects Statewide
(Seattle, WA) February 28, 2023– The landmark Cap and Invest Climate Commitment Act (CCA) holds its first revenue-generating auction today and is expected to raise significant funds to be invested in clean energy, clean transportation, natural climate solutions, and environmental justice.
“Today is the day that the century-old practice of emitting global warming gases into Washington’s skies and waterways for free ends,” said Clean & Prosperous Washington’s Executive Director, Michael Mann. “The proceeds from these auctions are an investment in our future, a powerful tool in lowering our greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 and they represent the largest investment in state history for our transition to a clean energy future.”
Standing in front of a fully electric shuttle van, Mann said, “This electric passenger van is a prime example of the kind of clean energy transportation that our state needs to invest in.”
“Companies like ours want to transition to clean fuels and all-electric vehicles and should be getting help from our state in the form of incentives from the dollars being raised by the CCA,” said Jeremy Butzlaff, President MTR Western, a charter bus and shuttle transportation company in the Pacific Northwest. “Without those funds, it will be difficult for many businesses like ours to purchase these electric vehicles which are an essential part of helping to decarbonize our transportation system and meet our net zero goals.”
Mann added, “Our analysis shows this program will unlock access to cleaner, healthier and more robust technology that will ultimately reduce energy and transportation costs while strengthening our economy and making it less dependent on energy imports,” he said. “We are strongly encouraging legislators who are making investment decisions on how to allocate the CCA’s program dollars, to pay special attention to the needs around EV charging infrastructure, Medium and Heavy-Duty truck decarbonization, dairy digesters, clean technologies and building efficiency and electrification.”
How cap-and-invest works (courtesy WA State Dept of Ecology)
The cap-and-invest program sets a decreasing limit, or cap, on overall carbon emissions in the state and requires businesses to obtain allowances equal to their covered greenhouse gas emissions. These allowances can be obtained through quarterly auctions hosted by Ecology, or bought and sold on a secondary market (just like stocks and bonds). The cap will be reduced over time to ensure Washington achieves its 2030, 2040, and 2050 emissions-reduction commitments, which means we’ll issue fewer emissions allowances each year.
Additional information about Washington’s CCA can be found here. Other updates can be found at Clean & Prosperous Washington as well as this DropBox Link. Media, please contact Lee Keller for interviews at 206.799.3805 or lee@thekellergroup.com.
More About Clean & Prosperous Washington
Clean & Prosperous Washington is a team of business leaders working with labor, tribes, environmental organizations, and social justice advocates to enact smart climate policies in Washington state. Together we are driving down greenhouse gas emissions while working to improve health and job outcomes, propel a stronger, more globally-competitive economy, and serve as a beacon of best-in-the-nation climate action for other states to emulate. The CaPWA coalition proved effective in helping the cap-and-invest Climate Commitment Act (CCA) win passage in Olympia, and is now actively helping to implement the CCA as the cornerstone of an entire suite of environmental laws including the Clean Fuel Standard and the HEAL Act – Healthy Environment for All. CaPWA brings an action-oriented, data-driven, strategic business approach to moving public- and private-sector climate work forward with urgency.