On Monday, a diverse coalition of organizations in Washington turned in over 375,000 signatures to qualify a precedent-setting “carbon fee” initiative for the November ballot. Only 260,000 valid signatures are required to make the ballot, so the measure all but certain to appear before Washington voters this fall.
I was one of thousands of people who volunteered many hours this spring and early summer collecting signatures for the carbon fee initiative, Measure 1631. The sheer number of people participating in this effort says something about the level of enthusiasm behind the Yes on 1631 campaign. Still, passing this groundbreaking policy will be no easy task with fossil fuel industry forces arrayed against it.
Measure 1631 would charge a modest fee per unit of carbon emitted on most of the state’s largest polluters. All the revenue would go into a fund reserved for financing climate change mitigation or adaptation projects. These could include not only renewable energy and efficiency, but projects that restore forests and salmon-bearing streams.
If approved by Washington voters, Measure 1631 would be the nation’s first statewide carbon fee; though California and several Northeastern states also have statewide carbon reduction policies, they rely on cap-and-trade programs rather than fees. Though both types of policies can be effective at driving down emissions, carbon fees are generally more favored by environmental justice groups because all polluters covered by the fee must actually reduce their own emissions rather than relying on “offsets.”
Groups that have endorsed Measure 1631 include most of Washington’s major environmental organizations as well as Solar Installers of Washington, the Transit Riders Union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters 117, the Makah, Quinault, and Samish Indian Nations, and many others.
And the opposition? Unsurprisingly it includes such names as Shell, BP, Chevron, and Phillips 66. In other words, the battle over Measure 1631 looks like it will a high-stakes showdown between grassroots environmental, labor, and social justice groups and the biggest polluters in the state. Just add that to the list of important fights for progressives this fall.