Draft:Washington Climate Commitment Act

The Climate Commitment Act is a law enacted by the Washington state legislature and signed by Governor Jay Inslee in 2021.

Initiative 2117
In the 2024 general election, Washington voters will decide on ballot initiative 2117 which seeks to repeal the Climate Commitment Act. A poll in May 2024 of 403 registered voters showed 41% support repealing while 31% oppose with a +/- 5% margin of error. As of June 2024, over $8.5 million and $5 million have been raised in support and opposition of the initiative, respectively.

Initiative 2117 is part of a group of ballot initiatives lead by conservative leaders, including businessman Brian Heywood, who criticized the CCA for targeting gasoline which has inelastic demand, meaning that people still have to buy it even when the price goes up. He was quoted as describing the policy as "like Marie Antoinette — let them drive Teslas." The coalition defending the CCA, No on 2117 includes Microsoft, Amazon, and oil company BP.

At the 2024 meeting of the North American Carbon World, Director of the Washington State Department of Ecology, Laura Watson, suggested that the result of the reason for the sudden drop in settlement price for carbon allowances in the first auction of the year was a result of the initiative getting on the ballot.