Episode 8: Washington State Cap-and-Invest Program Deep-Dive with Joel Creswell and Isaac Kastama

In this episode of ICAP’s Carbon Market Conversations, host Trevor Laroche-Theune takes listeners on a deep-dive into the Washington State Cap-and-Invest Program with expert guests Joel Creswell, Climate Pollution Reduction Program Manager at the Washington State Department of Ecology, and Isaac Kastama, Director, Government Relations for Clean & Prosperous. This conversation focuses on what has made Washington’s program particularly successful, how the Washington public reaffirmed the state’s commitment to climate action choosing to keep the program in place in a 2024 ballot vote, the status of linkage prospects with carbon markets in California and Québec, and key lessons other jurisdictions can take away from Washington’s experience. A more detailed breakdown of the topics explored and where you can listen to them is listed below.

Breakdown of topics covered:

0:55 - Introduction to today’s topic and our guests

3:15 - Overview of Washington’s program and what has made it successful

7:20 - What was at stake in the 2024 ballot vote

12:00 - Communication strategies (and the ballot vote campaign)

16:40 - Showing people what they are voting for: the result of including financial impacts on the ballot card

18:45 - Key lessons from Washington’s experience for other jurisdictions

26:50 - Importance of transparency in climate policy

29:45 - Status of linkage discussions with programs in California and Québec 

32:00 - Potential opportunities and challenges that come with linkage

35:15 - California’s reauthorization

36:40 - Key challenges that must be properly addressed in the coming years in Washington and what steps can be taken toward their resolution

41:15 - Closing remarks