Voters in Washington state on Tuesday night upheld a groundbreaking climate law despite opposition from conservatives.
The Associated Press has projected that a ballot initiative seeking to repeal the law has failed.
The law in question sets a cap on major polluters’ greenhouse gas emissions. Under the law, those companies are required to either bring their emissions down below a certain threshold or pay to purchase allowances.
The money from those allowances, which will become more scarce over time, goes toward funding climate-friendly projects including purchasing electric school buses and electric vehicle charging stations.
Opposition to the initiative came from a group called “Let’s Go Washington” which described the law as a “hidden gas tax.” The group is funded by Brian Heywood, who the AP described as a hedge fund executive.
Advocacy groups cheered the ballot initiative’s failure, describing it as a significant win for climate change.
“The defeat of Initiative 2117 is a major victory for bold state-level climate action and a decisive affirmation of Governor [Jay] Inslee’s [D-Wash.] popular policies that made Washington a national leader on climate change,” said a statement from Justin Balik, senior state program director at Evergreen Action, a group that was founded by former Inslee staffers.
