Voters uphold groundbreaking Washington state climate law

Voters in Washington state on Tuesday night upheld a groundbreaking climate law despite opposition from conservatives.

The Associated Press projected that a ballot initiative seeking to repeal the law has failed. 

The law in question sets a cap on major polluters’ greenhouse gas emissions. Under the law, those companies are required to either bring their emissions down below a certain threshold or pay to purchase allowances.

The money from those allowances, which will become more scarce over time, goes toward funding climate-friendly projects including purchasing electric school buses and electric vehicle charging stations.

Opposition to the initiative came from a group called “Let’s Go Washington” which described the law as a “hidden gas tax.” The group is funded by Brian Heywood, who the AP described as a hedge fund executive. 

Advocacy groups cheered the ballot initiative’s failure, describing it as a significant win for climate change.

“The defeat of Initiative 2117 is a major victory for bold state-level climate action and a decisive affirmation of [Washington Gov. Jay] Inslee’s popular policies that made Washington a national leader on climate change,” said a statement from Justin Balik, senior state program director at Evergreen Action, a group that was founded by former Inslee staffers.