Emissions Bill 2311 passes House and Senate, signed into law

In 2008, Washington enacted legislation (RCW 70.235) that set a series of limits on the emission of greenhouse gases within the state: quote:

By 2020, reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases in the state to 1990 levels;
By 2035, reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases in the state to twenty-five percent below 1990 levels;
By 2050, the state will do its part to reach global climate stabilization levels by reducing overall emissions to fifty percent below 1990 levels, or seventy percent below the state’s expected emissions that year. End quote.
In 2019, HB 2311 was introduced to modify these state greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets to

45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030,
70 percent below 1990 levels by 2040, and
95 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, with the goal of net zero emissions. This would mean that any remaining emissions would be offset by sequestration.

The bill has passed the House and the Senate , and has been signed by the governor. It is one of the two priorities of environmental groups that passed this session. (The other is 5811, the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) bill. See separate post on this.)