Washington State Leads in Climate-Friendly Building Policies--For Now

Buildings make up a quarter of Washington state’s carbon emissions, polluting more than any other sector except transportation.1 To change this grim statistic and achieve state climate goals, Washington has put in place some of the strongest building decarbonization policies in the United States.

Washington has mandated that the state’s electricity come from carbon-free sources by 2045. It has passed leading energy efficiency requirements for its biggest polluting institutions. It has created innovative pathways for utilities to help their customers electrify. And it has incentivized builders to install high-efficiency electric appliances instead of polluting gas-fired ones in new construction.

Two statewide initiatives on the November 2024 ballot could undo some of this robust policy and regulatory apparatus. So, Sightline analyzed the proposals and assessed how they would (or would not) affect Washington’s building decarbonization efforts.

Initiative 2117 to repeal Washington’s Climate Commitment Act would take with it more than $442 million that the state legislature has authorized to clean up existing buildings.2 Initiative 2066 would prevent the state, cities, and counties from actions that “prohibit, penalize, or discourage” the use of gas for heating or other appliances, which could affect Washington’s new energy code and Seattle’s new Building Emissions Performance Standard. Initiative 2066 would also repeal parts of HB 1589, a new policy to help customers of Washington’s largest utility, Puget Sound Energy (PSE), go electric.

https://www.sightline.org/2024/07/31/washington-state-leads-in-climate-friendly-building-policies-for-now/