Carbon WA

A 501(c)(4) organization based in Seattle, WA exploring legislative bills, ballot measures and other bipartisan approaches to addresses carbon emission issues -at the Washington state level- in a meaningful way. Initiative 732: The group was formed in 2016 as the campaign to support initiative 732 (Washington Carbon Emission Tax and Sales Tax Reduction). This initiative modeled on a similar scheme in British Columbia, would have established a tax on carbon emissions at $15 per metric ton of emissions starting in July 2017, $25 in July 2018, and then 3.5 percent plus inflation each year until the tax reaches $100 per metric ton. The tax would have been phased in more slowly for farmers and nonprofit transportation providers. Also, this tax was mean to be revenue-neutral for the State of Washington whereby the Sales tax would be reduced as the carbon tax increased. The initiative was defeated 40 to 60%, in part because some environmental groups issued "non-support" (rather than "oppose") positions on the matter. This initiative would have made Washington the first US State with a carbon tax. Following the election, the group continued to organize and supported another Carbon Tax initiative in 2018 (also defeated). Despite these setbacks, the organization remains committed to promoting this kind of policies and maintain its willingness to work with people across the political spectrum.