Washington officials brief Oregon senators on Climate Commitment Act, linkage and investment outcomes

Washington officials told the Oregon Senate Committee on Energy and Environment on June 9 that Washington’s Climate Commitment Act — the state’s cap-and-invest carbon program — has been operating since Jan. 1, 2023, generating auction revenue that Washington’s legislature has directed to transportation, wildfire prevention, school HVAC upgrades and other climate and equity priorities.

The hearing in Salem featured Representative Joe Fitzgibbon, House Majority Leader in the Washington State House of Representatives, and Joel Creswell, Climate Pollution Reduction Program Manager at the Washington State Department of Ecology, who described program mechanics, revenue flows and Washington’s work to negotiate linkage with California and Quebec. "The Climate Commitment Act's compliance functions began on January first of 2023," Fitzgibbon said, and he added that "Washington's program has been a great success." Joel Creswell described the program’s technical components and the statutes that require air-quality protections and targeted spending.

Why it matters: Oregon lawmakers are considering similar steps and asked how Washington’s experience affects market prices, fairness for trade‑exposed industries, the use of offsets and protections for communities already overburdened by air pollution. Washington officials said linkage with the larger California–Quebec market should lower and stabilize allowance costs and that program revenues have funded…