| Environment The League of Women Voters of Washington believes that climate change is a serious crisis facing our nation and planet. We now have no time to lose in implementing broad policy to slow planetary warming. Although solutions must align globally, state and local Leagues and individuals have a critical role to play in working to limit future climate change and protect the planet. Optimum response requires aligning actions to local conditions and opportunities. Nations and world bodies have been slow to respond with global solutions. That’s why individuals, communities, and governments must implement policies to reduce the greenhouse gasses they emit, while considering the ramifications of their decisions at all levels. The League supports climate goals and policies that are consistent with the best available climate science and that will ensure a stable climate and environment for future generations. Issue Team Chair: Martin Gibbins, mgibbins@lwvwa.org |
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Legislation |
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The 2026 Legislative Session The LWVWA belongs to the Environmental Priorities Coalition (EPC) that defines a core of legislative priorities by consensus for the 28 members to ensure the environment-focused organizations apply their effort with sufficient coherence to accomplish legislative progress. The 2026 priorities related to energy and climate are:
We can support these priorities based on our positions documented in Program in Action and Impact on Issues. The Lobby Team will also support other issues when that legislation conforms to our positions and as our resources permit. We expect continuing revenue shortfalls and budget needs will shape the 2026 legislative session, as was the case in 2025. Besides the EPC priorities, you may anticipate our attention on bills affecting:
Hearings on significant bills will occur this coming first week of the session. See instructions below for how to comment on a bill and how to sign in Pro or Con. Using the bill number links, you can follow the progress of a bill on your own including committee hearings, amendments, and votes. League Positions on Climate & Energy Energy conservation methods to be encouraged should include promotion of:
Overview of the 2025 Legislative Session The Climate Commitment Act (CCA) remains the most significant policy to reduce Washington’s greenhouse gas (GHG) releases. Although it survived an initiative to repeal it, the environmental coalitions have set a priority for 2025 to protect the revenue from the CCA as the legislature searches for potential revenue sources to fill budget gaps over the next 4 years. The original intent of the CCA was that the revenue be invested only to implement emission reductions, increase energy efficiency, and correct climate change and environmental injustice. The long-term outlook for reaching our emission reduction goals requires a focus on electrification of our transportation, buildings, and industry. This will require a focus on electricity transmission, distribution, and renewable energy generation. Therefore, streamlining the siting and licensing of such facilities is a priority.
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2026 Climate Crisis and Energy Legislation
Bills in green are supported. Bills in red are opposed by the League. Bills in black the League is watching.
HB 2285 Carbon capture and utilization.
This bill would allow natural gas systems to be used to satisfy Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) requirements, if the natural gas system is operated with a carbon capture and utilization, mineralization, or sequestration (CCUS) technology. But this technology cannot capture all the carbon dioxide in the combustion emissions. Systems must be well maintained, the storage technique must be robust and last for a long time, and methane leakage from the piping systems that bring in the fuel is much more greenhouse active than carbon dioxide over the following 20 years. With these risks and the additional energy consumption required, we could actually increase emissions.
HB 2245 Updating provisions for consumer-owned utilities, including port districts, and affected market customers under the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA).
The Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) was passed in 2019 to encourage the transition away from fossil fuels in our electrical generation system and define reporting to track that transition. Since then, some high electrical power demand customers have emerged such as data centers. This bill adjusts CETA requirements to ensure transparency in reporting, and is one of several bills anticipated this session to ensure data center resource demands (power and water, etc.) do not disrupt supplies and prices from residential and other industry needs.
- If you do nothing else, please scan the Legislative Action Newsletter each week and respond to the Action Alerts.
- If you have more time and are interested in a particular topic, we always appreciate and can use your assessments of bills, law implementation, and future concerns. For climate and energy topics send your assessments of a few paragraphs to a few pages and include the sources of the facts you rely on.
- Local Leagues in Washington have action chairs who coordinate action teams. Some local Leagues have health care teams to take action locally. Contact your local League action chair to find out and join.
- You may also express your opinion on legislation with the LWVWA issue chairs. We will take your perspectives into consideration as we determine our support for legislation and prepare testimony. Send them to Martin Gibbins, Climate Change and Energy Issue Chair.