Getting a price on Carbon in Washington State

Originally posted on ASBC website.

In October 2014, 100 companies joined together and launched the Washington Climate Declaration, a state level version of the national Climate Declaration created by CERES. Since launching, that number has increased to 185 signatories, including several business associations including ASBC, who believe that taking action on climate just makes good business sense.

Collectively, we are known as Washington Business for Climate Action. Our leadership team is made up of business people from across Washington State and our mission is to engage Washington businesses by providing opportunities for education, innovation, and advocacy on climate and energy that meet the needs of a diverse range of business sectors.

WBCA is also linked to a broader effort in the state - the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy. This is a fast growing coalition of diverse constituencies that includes business, labor, communities of color, health, faith based groups and environmental NGOs. We are uniting to support reducing carbon pollution and promote just and sustainably shared prosperity.

Meanwhile, the Washington legislature is stalled over HB 1314, Governor Inslee’s bill that would introduce a cap and trade system and put a price on carbon. The initial version of the bill did not make it into the House budget, and a revised version is now under consideration.



While many businesses have testified in favor of capping and pricing carbon pollution, the prospects for HB 1374 still appear cloudy, due to a divided legislature. Therefore, the next step is likely to involve developing an initiative for the people to vote on. There are good indications from prior polls that this would be popular with voters.

When it comes to setting a price on carbon, business appears to generally fall into one of two camps:

The Business as Usual voice 

• Washington State is already clean (referring to our current abundance of hydro power),
• State level action is irrelevant - we need to wait for national and international level action, and
• We are already investing in reducing emissions/clean energy and we should get credit for that.

The Breakthrough Business voice 

• Reliance on hydro gives us a false sense of security in light of diminishing snowpack. We need to grow all forms of clean energy,
• Waiting for national and international action is not leadership, and does not position us to take advantage of economic opportunities, and
• We need a price on carbon to attract impact investors to the table to grow jobs and accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy.
  
  

ASBC is uniquely positioned to support the work of WBCA and the Alliance. Washington State will need to synchronize with other jurisdictions, including other countries. There is already strong momentum here on the west coast. California and British Columbia have instituted cap and trade and a carbon tax, respectively, and when Oregon and Washington join them, the fifth largest economy in the world will have a price on carbon. That should send a clear message to the other Washington that, as my countryman Winston Churchill said “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”

Sarah Severn is a board member of ASBC. After 21 years at Nike Inc., she relocated to Washington State. She is currently consulting and acting as a coordinator for Washington Business for Climate Action.