West

Washington

Washington has been a leader in climate and environmental justice policy, especially with the passage of the ambitious Climate Commitment Act and the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act in 2021. The state’s emissions decreased by 10% from 1990-2021, compared to their target of 45% below 1990 levels by 2030. The majority of in-state electricity is generated by renewables, and the state is the top hydroelectric power producer, providing over one-fifth of the country’s hydroelectric power.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 1990 levels

2030

45%

2040

70%

2050

95%

2050

Net-zero economy

Governor

Jay Inslee (Democrat)

House Party

Democratic Majority

Senate Party

Democratic Majority

Legislative session

1/8/24 - 3/7/24

US Climate Alliance Status

Member

Key Offices & Links

37

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 7 policy areas

See all

25

Policy Opportunities

across 6 policy areas

See all

West

11 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted
In-progress
Partially Enacted
Not Enacted

Glossary of Terms

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	YR Enacted
Enacted	Clean Energy and Renewable Portfolio Standards Empty column 15% renewable energy by 2020 \| 100% greenhouse gas neutral by 2030 \| 100% renewable or zero-emitting energy by 2045 Establishing Policies SB 5116 (2019)	Electricity	Energy Plans and Targets	2019
Enacted	Clean Energy Plans Empty column Washington 2021 State Energy Strategy Establishing Policies SB 5116 (2019) Washington 2021 State Energy Strategy (2020)	Electricity	Energy Plans and Targets	2020
Not Enacted	Electricity Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets Empty column Electricity greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets are set by a state to limit GHG emissions in the electricity sector. These targets aim to reduce emissions by different amounts over time, often expressed as percentage relative to a baseline year.	Electricity	Energy Plans and Targets
Not Enacted	Community Choice Aggregation Empty column Community choice aggregation allows local governments to procure power on behalf of their residents, businesses, and municipal accounts from an alternative supplier while still receiving transmission and distribution service from their existing utility provider.	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Not Enacted	Distributed Generation/Solar Carve-out Empty column The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies SPOT - Distributed Generation/Solar Carve-out in Washington Policy Components not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted 0/5	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted	Net Metering Empty column The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies SPOT - Net Metering in Washington SPOT - Aggregate Net Metering in Washington Policy Components enacted enacted enacted not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted enacted enacted enacted enacted enacted 8/11	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted	Shared Renewables Empty column The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies SPOT - Shared Renewables in Washington Policy Components enacted not-enacted enacted enacted enacted enacted 5/6	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Not Enacted	Energy Storage Targets Empty column Energy storage targets establish procurement targets for energy storage systems by a certain date, often with interim targets. Targets can vary from broad megawatt (MW) requirements to more specific mandates that focus on the adoption of certain storage technologies.	Electricity	Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage
Enacted	Interconnection Standards Empty column Washington received a D grade from Freeing the Grid. Establishing Policies Freeing the Grid Washington Grade (2023)	Electricity	Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage	2023
Enacted	Coal Phaseouts Empty column Requires utilities to phase out coal-fired electricity from their state portfolios by 2025. Establishing Policies SB 5116 (2019)	Electricity	Coal Retirement	2019
Not Enacted	Coal Plant Securitization Empty column Coal securitization is a financing tool that allows utility companies to refinance debt they issued to build coal plants and close the facilities early without taking a financial hit or passing costs on to ratepayers.	Electricity	Coal Retirement

Washington

Key Offices & Links

37

25

West

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Washington