Washington legislators and agency officials outline how Climate Commitment Act auction proceeds are spent

In an informational briefing to the Senate Interim Committee on Energy and Environment, former and current Washington policymakers and an Ecology official outlined how proceeds from allowance auctions under the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) have been allocated and the policy choices lawmakers face going forward.

Representative Joe Fitzgibbon, who chaired Washington’s House environment committee and led passage of the CCA, summarized statutory intent and spending priorities. He said the program targets covered entities—those emitting more than 25,000 metric tons CO2e annually—and that auction proceeds have generated “billions” for investment (he cited roughly $3,200,000,000 in the program’s first 1½ years). Fitzgibbon emphasized the law’s equity provisions: a statutory minimum of 35% of investments must benefit vulnerable and overburdened communities (with a 40% goal) and at…