Are ‘overburdened’ communities getting fair share of WA climate funds?

State climate officials and an environmental justice organization disagree over how the state plans to spend cash from its highly lucrative carbon-pricing program.

At the center of the argument hangs something like $700 million. 

The question at hand is whether Washington set aside enough money from the carbon-pricing market for the people and communities most vulnerable to climate change. When the legislature enacted the Climate Commitment Act in 2021, it set specific requirements for how much money must go to those “overburdened“ communities and tribes.

“These are the folks who...