Inslee Kicks Off Legislative Budget Season With Climate Package

OLYMPIA, WA — The new year is almost here, and Gov. Jay Inslee is preparing for Washington's upcoming legislative session with a preview of his plans for 2022, starting with the announcement of a new climate package.

Inslee has long been a staunch environmentalist — running for the presidency in 2020 with a campaign focused largely on climate change and other environmental concerns — so its little surprise that he's starting off 2022 focused on the issue.

“We have made good progress in our state, but it is not enough, and we must do more. Now is the time to act boldly and quickly — to protect the planet and to grow our economy with clean energy jobs,” Inslee said.

The governor's proposed climate package, released Monday, would spend $626 million on four major areas: decarbonizing the building sector, adhering to the Climate Commitment Act, investing more in clean transportation, and building clean energy sources in Washington.

Inslee's policy brief calls the state "a leader in the nation in reducing climate pollution", but admits that Washington has much more to go to meet the state's prior commitment to cutting climate pollution 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

"The fight against the climate crisis requires action to protect our families and communities from intensified fires, greater flooding, and extreme heat events that grow more harmful every year," the brief begins. "Gov. Jay Inslee’s 2022 legislative and budget climate package delivers action that builds on Washington’s role as a leader in clean energy and economic growth. This suite of policies will expand access to clean buildings, create clean energy jobs statewide, and ensure equitable solutions for overburdened communities that disproportionately experience environmental harms."

Here's a look at some of what his plan proposes:

Decarbonizing the building sector

Residential and commercial buildings are Washington's second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, per the state Department of Ecology. Inslee's solution includes proposals to strengthen energy codes for new buildings, requiring them to cut energy use by 80 percent. It also calls for cleaner heating sources asking gas utilities to draft plans to switch to renewable natural gas, renewable hydrogen, and electrification. Other plans include investing in energy-related projects at state facilities, weatherizing homes, and improving customer access to renewable energy.

Successfully implementing the Climate Commitment Act

Gov. Jay Inslee signed the state's Climate Commitment Act in May of this year, creating a cap on carbon emissions and reinvesting fees levied on major polluters in clean energy and infrastructure, among other requirements. To meet the goals laid out in that act, Inslee's office says this year the state will need 2,748,000 to create a new "climate office" to manage greenhouse gas limits and hold the state accountable. This pillar of Inslee's policy also promises to consult local tribes on climate investments, and expand air quality monitoring is less wealthy communities, which often bear the brunt of climate change impacts.

Investing in clean transportation

Transportation causes nearly half of the state's greenhouse gas emissions, and remains in focus here. Last year's HB 1091 requires the state cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars, ferries, boats and other transportation to 20 percent below 2017's level by the year 2038. To make that possible, Inslee is proposing offering rebates for zero-emission vehicles of up to $7,500 per car, plus other rebates for low income drivers to help them ditch older gas guzzlers. Inslee's proposal also sets aside $4,194,000 to continue electrifying the state's vehicle fleet.

Building a clean future in Washington

The final portion of Inslee's proposal will focus on partnerships between the state and local companies that are "building our clean energy future, ranging from wind and solar power generation facilities to companies manufacturing electric airplanes and new battery technologies." Proposals under that header promise to modernize the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, which was first created back in the '70s, recruit more clean energy industries and provide good, clean energy jobs, and invest in solar panels and energy storage.

Now that the governor has outlined his proposals for climate spending, he's expected to release three more policy briefs on other issues over the coming three days.

>> Read Gov. Jay Inslee's full climate strategic agenda for 2022.