The overwhelming defeat Tuesday of a Washington state ballot measure aimed at killing a top climate policy boosts other states looking at launching a similar regulation, experts said.
Washington state voters by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent rejected Initiative 2117, which would have revoked the state climate law that led to the creation of a carbon market in 2023. Through the market, the state sets yearly limits on greenhouse gas emissions from major polluters and forces those that can’t cut emissions enough to pay penalties.
The survival of Washington’s market, known as “cap-and-invest” because it uses the state revenues to invest in climate change-related projects, helps advocates pushing for similar programs in New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania, experts said.
“That emboldens us for sure,” said Kim Coble, co-chair of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change. The advisory group is scheduled to vote this month on whether to recommend the creation of a state carbon market to Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and the state Legislature.
