EVERETT — The Clean & Prosperous Institute, a research organization specializing in climate change and carbon reduction, announced last week it updated its server for Washingtonians to track where state Climate Commitment Act dollars are going.
Washington’s Climate Commitment Act mandates that, by 2050, the state must reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases by 95% below 1990 levels. Because of the structure of the law, entities that are continuing to create large amounts of pollution must pay fines, which will then fund climate-resilience-focused projects.
Clean & Prosperous created a map, illustrating 2,700 state-funded projects, supported by $4.74 billion in funds. According to a July 22 press release, the website is the most comprehensive resource that tracks where and how revenue from the Climate Commitment Act is spent.
“This update shows steady and timely progress from the Legislature and Washington agencies in launching programs and distributing revenue directly to communities most impacted by climate change and unhealthy air,” said Kevin Tempest, Research Director, Clean & Prosperous Institute. “As more CCA resources are deployed, this tool becomes even more essential for tracking the pace of progress towards a clean, innovative, and efficient economy.”
Washingtonians can search projects by a variety of filters, with icons showing if the project supports natural and working lands, public transit or is tribal-led work.
Since the last map update in February, just under $1 billion of revenue has been authorized for projects, including programs like clean energy community grants and landfill methane reduction grants, the press release stated.
Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.
Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.
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