CaPI Webinar Series: Cap & Invest in Washington StateWebinar Q&A: Introduction to Cap & Invest in Washington StateIs it true that RGGI GHG reduction stalled during the Great Recession because need for energy declined and there was no political will to...
Clean & Prosperous Washington
Newsletter
Webinar Q&A: California’s Cap & Trade Program
CaPI Webinar Series: Cap & Invest in Washington StateWebinar Q&A: Introduction to Cap & Invest in Washington StateIs it true that California’s Cap & Trade program does not address transportation emissions?Shorter Answer False. Transportation emissions can...
Webinar Q&A: Is Cap and Trade better than a Carbon Fee?
CaPI Webinar Series: Cap & Invest in Washington StateWebinar Q&A: Introduction to Cap & Invest in Washington StateWhy is a cap approach better than a carbon fee, especially an accelerating fee? Corollary Questions: Do you believe cap & invest is the best...
California Reaches Climate Change Mitigation Goal Ahead of Schedule
Former Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed California’s landmark AB 32 climate legislation in 2006, celebrated beating the target with remarks published in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Surpassing our 2020 emissions goal ahead of schedule while our economy grows by a nation-leading 4.9 percent and our unemployment rate is at a historic low should send a message to politicians all over the country: you don’t have to reinvent the wheel—just copy us. Business will boom and lives will be saved.”
Climate Change Creates Risk & Opportunity for WA Business
“We don’t need an energy miracle” to effectively address climate change. That was the message a speaker from the Risky Business Project shared with Washington State business leaders earlier this month. Their new research identifies cost-competitive, low-carbon energy sources and technologies that already exist and will become cheaper over the coming decades.
Electric Battery Buses to be King of the Road in King County
120 all-electric battery buses will be transporting folks around King County by 2020. Revolutionary new transportation technologies can get us moving safer, faster, greener, and cheaper with ACES technology: vehicles that are automated, connected, electric and shared.
Data Viz: Commute Modes
WHAT IT IS
The following data visualization shows for all 50 U.S. states from 2007 through 2011 what percent of daily trips to work occur via different modes of transportation. Such so-called “mode split” data by state is augmented by data for transit usage within major metro regions via the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. However as noted above transit environmental benefits can depend on percent of seats filled. The “2012 National Transit Summaries and Trends” report from the National Transit Database (p. 23) notes that for all 824 reporting transit systems in the United States in 2012, bus routes had a combined load factor of just 11.2 percent compared to 25.2 percent for light rail, 27.5 for “heavy rail” transit and 35 percent for commuter rail.
Data Viz: Electricity Affordability
WHAT IT IS
Weighted average of retail electricity rates, in cents per kilowatt hour.
WHY IT MATTERS
Cost of electricity is an especially important factor for manufacturing industries and larger commercial enterprises. It’s part of the larger competitive landscape of the cost of doing business.
WA CURRENT STANDING
3rd out of 50 states, 6.94 cents per kiloWatt hour (2013).
Data Viz: Carbon Competitiveness
WHAT IT IS
The ratio of GDP to CO2 emissions. Increasing carbon competitiveness means reducing the carbon intensity of our economy. Metric tons of CO2 equivalent emitted per million dollars of GDP generated. GDP expressed as real state GDP in chained 2005 dollars.
WHY IT MATTERS
Extracting greater economic value from each unit of carbon emission positions us strongly to compete in the low carbon economy of the future.
WA CURRENT STANDING
6th out of 50 states (2013).
Washington Business Leaders Discuss the Future of Carbon Policy
What’s next for carbon reduction policy in Washington State? Voters in the 2016 election rejected Initiative 732. The federal Clean Air Rule is being challenged in the courts. The state legislature will convene in January 2017. In this context, leaders from across Washington’s business community met in Seattle on November 16th, 2016 to discuss efforts by governments and businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.