When Washington D.C. fails, Washington state leads.
Gov. Jay Inslee sent out a statement yesterday on Trump’s intention to remove U.S. from international climate agreement, saying “Washington state is leading the way on climate issues where Washington, D.C., is failing.” Trump today announced that is indeed his intention, and shortly after, Inslee joined the governors of New York and California to announce a multi-state alliance that will make sure the inaction from D.C. is countered by an equal show of action by the states to combat carbon pollution.
Washington is well-positioned to continue leading on climate action.
In 2014 the governor issued an executive order enacting several state efforts to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean energy. Washington state’s climate actions include a first-of-its-kind cap on carbon emissions, an aggressive effort to promote EVs, and significant investments in clean energy technology through the state’s Clean Energy Fund.
The Clean Energy Fund enables a mix of projects to support development, demonstration and deployment of clean energy technologies. They save energy, reduce energy costs, reduce harmful air emissions and increase energy independence for Washington, and help strengthen communities all across the state. Clean Energy Fund projects have included the University of Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, and smart energy grid investmentsincluding the world’s largest vanadium flow batteries made in Mukilteo, enabling more renewable power into the electric grid.
Washington, Oregon, and California have worked together under the Pacific Coast Collaborative, teaming up to promote clean energy along the West Coast. Their collective work has grown the West Coast’s clean energy economy more than twice as fast as the rest of the nation.
For more on Washington's climate action leadership, read the rest of the story on Medium.com/wagovernor.