Organizations Submit Letter Applauding Gov. Inslee for Climate Commitments, Calling for Action

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Fifteen climate, public health and economic justice organizations submitted a letter applauding Washington Governor Inslee’s recent commitments with the U.S. Climate Alliance to accelerate the transition to pollution-free homes and buildings. The letter called on his administration to take specific steps to equitably advance the transition off of fossil fuels. 

“We applaud Governor Inslee for his continued climate leadership, and for the commitments he made with the U.S. Climate Alliance this fall,” said Dylan Plummer, a Senior Field Organizing Strategist with the Sierra Club. “With this letter we hope to acknowledge the tremendous work the Inslee administration has been doing, and offer our expertise and support to accomplish the State’s goals and equitably transition the state to homes and buildings powered by clean electricity.” 

The letter highlights the Governor’s commitments to explore zero-emission air quality standards for new HVACs and water heaters, to build on Washington’s strong policies to build clean, efficient new buildings, and to align its public utility planning with state climate goals. It seeks to start a transparent, public dialogue about Washington’s steps toward meeting these commitments that allows communities and advocates to monitor and support those efforts. The letter was signed by organizations including The Energy Project, Evergreen Collaborative and Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility.

The letter comes as Washington state has led the nation on electrification, with a spate of significant policies in recent months:

• Seattle approved an ambitious climate policy to transition existing large commercial and multi–family buildings — a major source of climate pollution — to clean energy. 
  • The Building Performance Standard is expected to cut climate pollution from Seattle buildings by 27%. 
  • The policy requires buildings 20,000 square feet and larger — roughly 4,100 buildings across the city — to gradually reduce pollution to achieve net-zero emissions by midcentury.
  • The vast majority of buildings are likely to comply by upgrading to efficient electric equipment like heat pumps. 
  • The policy is expected to create between 150 and 270 jobs annually, and expand career paths for women and BIPOC communities in Seattle. 
• Washington adopted an energy code last month that will ensure almost all new homes and buildings across the state are built to run on clean energy.
  • The state had previously adopted an energy code in fall of 2022 that required heat pumps in new construction, but was forced to hit pause on implementation following a widely-criticized decision from the Ninth Circuit Court to narrow the legal pathways for clean buildings policy. 
  • Washington’s State Building Code Council then went back to the drawing board, and crafted a new policy that achieves the goal of ensuring the vast majority of homes are built to run on clean energy, while complying with the Ninth Circuit court decision. 
  • Codes support the transition for new homes and buildings to run on Washington state's clean and comparatively low-cost electricity. 
  • All-electric homes save Washingtonians $1,000 per year over the lifetime of the HVAC equipment, according to the Washington Department of Commerce. 

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