WA spent only 0.1% of Climate Commitment Act funds on air quality, report finds
Mar 21, 2025, 4:00 PM | Updated: Jul 10, 2025, 9:37 am
Smoke rises from the chimneys of wood-processing industrial plants. (Photo: Jens Büttner, Getty Images)
(Photo: Jens Büttner, Getty Images)
A Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) report shows only 0.1% of funds raised by the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) was spent on supporting air quality projects.
Approximately $472 million of funds obtained through CCA were spent during the fiscal year 2024, according DOE report from last November. Of that, 0.1% (around $596,000) came from the air quality account for two projects meant to “reduce criteria air pollutant emissions in overburdened communities highly impacted by air pollution” and monitor ultra-fine particles by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The DOE report was flagged by The Center Square.
Funds from the CCA are meant to spread across more than 1,000 projects, but, according to the DOE report, only two projects were dedicated to air quality. Just 0.64% of the $3.3 billion the CCA redistributed throughout 2023-25 came from the air quality account—equivalent to approximately $21.8 million.
According to The Center Square, 89% of project spending in 2024 did not have any impact on carbon emissions.
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