In Washington state, the 2024 election simultaneously yielded a resounding statewide victory and a crushing defeat for federal climate action and environmental protection.
There’s no point in sugarcoating it. We will likely cross 1.5℃ of global warming this year. The upcoming presidential term coincides with some of the last years we have to rapidly draw down greenhouse gas emissions and avoid global warming of 2.0℃ or more. Deadly floods, storms, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires are already here, and now time to meaningfully limit the severity of the destruction is running out.
We had little margin for error regardless of the outcome of the general election, but based on the actions of the first Trump Administration and the promises of Trump’s 2024 campaign, we can expect the federal government to undermine climate action on multiple fronts. Project 2025, the policy agenda authored by members of Trump’s first administration, urges slashing federal funding for climate resilience and clean energy research, and altogether eliminating NOAA. Trump has also publicly mused about making FEMA aid contingent on a disaster zone’s level of political support.
Trump’s stated aims of deregulation and increasing fossil fuel production assure his second administration will increase greenhouse gas emissions and resume attempts to dismantle bedrock federal protections for our air, water, wildlife and environment, along with the health and safety of workers and the fenceline communities.
In stark contrast to the general election, Washington voters overwhelmingly elected pro-environment candidates and rejected Initiative 2117, the ballot measure to repeal the 2022 Climate Commitment Act. Dave Upthegrove, who ran on a commitment to conserve mature forests on state lands, was elected to serve as the state’s next Commissioner of Public Lands. Progressives Bob Ferguson and Nick Brown were elected as the state’s next Governor and Attorney General respectively, positioning our state well to fend off federal attacks on our environment and personal freedoms (as Ferguson did as AG during Trump’s first term).
These victories didn’t just happen. They were the result of effective grassroots organizing. The No on 2117 campaign assembled a coalition of more than 500 organizations and businesses across the state. My organization, RE Sources, helped anchor grassroot efforts in Northwest Washington, reaching more than 16,000 households in Whatcom County alone thanks to staff and volunteers.
Moving Forward
Our options for how we navigate what comes next are simple: We can throw up our hands and resign ourselves to catastrophe, or we can channel our energy and our resources into local grassroots action.
We can build on the positive impacts that we’ve only just begun to realize with funds from the Climate Commitment Act — salmon habitat restoration, renewable energy, funding for wildfire fighters, transportation and investments in Tribal projects. These investments will improve the lives of people who need it the most in every corner of the state, while charting a course for other states to follow.
In the weeks ahead we can advance environmental priorities for the upcoming 2025 Washington State Legislative Session when the budget for the next two years of state spending will be set.
We can prioritize our local waters by better regulating pollutants, replacing aging infrastructure, and investing in natural climate solutions that restore land and build climate resilience.
We can reject a culture of hyperconsumerism and turn to local small businesses and neighbors to reuse, re-purpose, and repair the goods and materials we need. We can tap into national movements to defend federal laws and agencies that protect our environment and health. And we can hold our local and state elected leaders to their campaign promises.
We can stand firm in upholding and defending Tribal treaty rights and follow the direction of local Tribes and Indigenous-led organizations, who are leading on regional climate adaptation and salmon restoration efforts.
We can come together across movements to loudly condemn racist, anti-trans, homophobic misogynist, anti-Indigenous and anti-immigrant rhetoric and actions that endanger members of our communities.
We can recognize the ways in which corporate interests exploit both workers and the environment while presenting a false choice of jobs versus the environment to pit us against each other. We can instead work together in solidarity to build a path toward a just, prosperous and climate-resilient future for Northwest Washington.
It is precisely because the election results in Washington defy national trends that environmental and climate local action here matters so much. Our little corner of the country can be a beacon of climate progress in the years ahead. Our advocacy here will do more to move the needle on national climate action AND rebuff the Trump administration than almost anywhere else.
Let’s gather in community and resume the curious, courageous work of speaking up for our planet and for one another. There is so much left to save and scant time left to do it. If you’re not sure where to start, sign up for our email list, and we’ll deliver key opportunities to take action and come together straight to your inbox.
By: Jay Kosa
I’d be remiss not point out that local while local advocacy groups like RE Sources are more essential than ever, they face serious economic headwinds. We need grassroots financial support if we’re going to advance local climate and environmental solutions AND defend our regions from environmental rollbacks and funding cuts. If you value our region’s air, water, climate and communities, now is the time to give like you live here. Consider giving monthly to sustain our work (and your commitment to it) in the months ahead.