(The Center Square) – The Washington Senate unanimously passed a bill earlier this month that would require the state Department of Ecology to release a report on statewide carbon emissions every year, rather than two years as it currently does.
The bill’s backers say the change is needed to better set environmental policies and track whether taxpayer dollars spent to meet those goals are spent well.
“We just got data from 2020, it is now 2025,” Senate Bill 5036’s sponsor Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, told the Senate Ways & Means Committee at a Feb. 18 public hearing. “We are using a lot of data throughout the state. This is a good bill to utilize that data sooner, quicker and more current data. I think it allows to get to better decisions that will impact that soon as we move to the future.”
According to the latest data from Ecology, carbon emissions increased in 2021 from 2020, but remained below 2019 levels. However, The Center Square has reported that despite the decrease in emissions the state is still not meeting its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals set by the Legislature.
Though the goals were met in 2020, some environmental analysts have noted that this was due to the state-imposed lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 virus, which among other things significantly reduced transportation, a sector that makes up half of all statewide emissions annually. Although the 2021 Climate Commitment Act forces emitters to either reduce their carbon footprint or purchase “allowances” via quarterly auctions, only 11% of CCA revenue goes towards projects that reduce carbon emissions. In the fiscal year 2024, the projects related to carbon reduced statewide annual emissions by roughly .3%.
Boehnke told colleagues on the Senate floor prior to a bill vote that “we’re putting millions of dollars into these projects. They’re going throughout our state. This just gives us a measuring stick to see if we’re accurate, we’re transparent, and our money is actually going to that return on investment that we want to see.”
Also speaking also in favor of the bill was Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, who told Senate colleagues “it is hard to improve on what you don’t measure. This bill is a good little bill to improve transparency and also make sure that our what we measure is meaningful.”
The bill is now being considered in the House of Representatives.
SB 5036 is scheduled for a March 20 public hearing in the House Environment & Energy Committee.
