State pursuing pared-down climate change agenda

Recognizing a tough budget situation, the state is planning to pursue a less aggressive plan to curb climate change than many had hoped.

The centerpiece of the plan is a regional cap-and-trade system that would limit the amount of greenhouse gases that industrial polluters emit while allowing them to buy and trade credits for the amount they can produce.

But some of the ambitious recommendations put forth by a task force Gov. Chris Gregoire established last year likely won't be pursued when the Legislature convenes next month.

Gregoire last week released a pared-down state budget proposal in response to a projected deficit of nearly $6 billion, with calls for across-the-board cuts in areas such as higher education and human services.

"We'll do as much as we can within the confines of the budget," said Tony Usibelli, assistant director of the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. "That's the difficulty we're running up against."

A report released Monday by several state agencies relies heavily on a regional cap-and-trade program to fight climate change.

Concerned about the bad economy and pressure on businesses, Gregoire is leaning toward giving away most of the pollution credits, rather than auctioning them off as environmentalists had hoped.

The governor's proposed budget includes about $25 million for climate change, including money to add solar panels to three state prisons, increase the energy efficiency of public buildings and fund anaerobic digesters to reduce waste. There's also money in the proposed spending plan to increase vanpools.

The Climate Action Team, which Gregoire convened last year to come up with concrete ways to fight climate change, earlier this month called for more energy-efficient buildings, compact urban development, better collection of recycled materials, reduced driving and revised development rules to account for greenhouse gas emissions.

Janice Adair of the state Department of Ecology said the state won't pursue some of those recommendations next year, such as giving tax credits to buildings that reduce energy use.

She said other groups or legislators may push for them, and some efforts, such as revising the energy code to reduce energy use, can still be done.

Some environmentalists say they understand the economic situation.

"It's obviously a dismal budget situation," said K.C. Golden, policy director with Climate Solutions. "We're not expecting enormous public investment."

He said there's opportunity for private investment in energy-efficient buildings and through the cap-and-trade program.

Washington is one of seven states and four Canadian provinces that drafted a plan for a regional cap-and-trade market.

The plan initially calls for selling at least 10 percent of credits to polluters through an auction and giving away the rest.

Eric de Place, a senior researcher with Sightline Institute, a Seattle think tank, said he was disappointed that the state plans to auction off only 10 percent of the pollution credits and give the rest away for free.

"We were expecting Washington to step up and do more," he said.

He and others said the money from the auction could go toward investing in clean technology, such as wind and solar power.

"There is understandably nervousness around thinking of the expense of purchasing allowances when companies are laying off employees," Adair said. "While we want to see business transform over time, we really don't want to see them leave the state."

Increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are most responsible for triggering global climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.