Olympia, WA– Washington legislators will soon return to Olympia for the 2026 session (begins January 12, 2026). While this short session will center on piecing together the puzzle of a tight budget, it is notable that this week’s Climate Commitment Act auction report demonstrates stable and predictable revenue that continues to deliver benefits—including lower energy costs—to Washington families.  

Climate Revenue is Protected by Statute 

It’s imperative that CCA dollars continue to be invested in reducing pollution, building clean energy, and strengthening communities—and state law requires it. During its passage, lawmakers legally bound CCA funds to climate investments in transportation, clean energy, clean air, and natural climate solutions. These provisions were intended to both 1) ensure these dollars actually go towards mitigating and addressing impacts of climate change, and 2)  address historic and current harms of environmental and systemic racism and bias that have resulted in marginalized communities bearing the worst impacts of the climate burden. One guardrail to accomplish this is the requirement that 35%-40% of funds go towards designated “overburdened” communities, and 10% must go to projects with Tribal support. 

The CCA was designed to not only withstand state budget changes, but with disappearing federal support for clean energy and environmental justice programs, the CCA provides Washington State continuity and stability in climate policy. 

Q4 Auction Outcomes

The Department of Ecology hosted its final CCA auction of 2025 last week, December 3rd, bringing total CCA dollars for climate and clean water projects in Washington to $4.3 Billion since 2023: 

• Total revenue raised for state climate investments in the December auction: $395 Million
• Total 2025 revenue from CCA: $1.6 Billion
• Allowances made available for sale: 6,699,405
• Revenue raised for utility bill rebates & electrification projects: $190 Million
• Quick note on additional auctions: Washington has held two additional auctions, allowance price containment reserve (APCR) auctions, which are aimed at keeping prices stable by offering additional allowance purchase opportunities. Each APCR auction raised $220M. The December auction price settled at $70, which triggers an additional APCR auction that will take place in 2026.

Leveraging CCA Dollars for Community Benefits 

CCA dollars are funding an incredible breadth of Washington’s efforts to address climate change, advance clean energy, and shore up natural climate solutions. But even more critical are that funds are building successful programs that cut energy costs for families statewide. A prime example is the HEAR program, which provides rebates for heat pumps and induction stoves, and has proven to be popular and successful. In its initial launch, HEAR distributed almost 4,000 rebates to households on low and

moderate incomes, small businesses, and adult family homes. Other notable and newer funding allocations could include the extremely popular EV Instant rebate program, which allocated $45 million in just three months, due to extremely high demand from folks ready to make the switch.  

Funded projects can be found in detail on the Clean & Prosperous Mapping Washington’s Climate Commitments tool, or the Department of Ecology’s project map. 

Notable priority CCA allocations to watch in 2026 include: 

• WA EV Instant Rebate Program ($100 million): This successful program supports households on lower incomes cut their transportation fuel costs by helping them access a new or used EV. When the program launched in 2024, it blew through $45 million in three months. The average recipient had an annual household income of $53,800 and 89% said they would not have been able to benefit from the $1,500+ in yearly EV fuel savings without this program. WA currently has no passenger EV incentives, which are all the more important now that federal incentives have been revoked, but the Legislature can rectify this with CCA funding.
• WA Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Program (HEAR, $50 million): Research shows we need substantial investment in building electrification to align with our State Energy Strategy. HEAR has proven to be popular and successful at distributing efficient energy upgrades to households: in its initial launch, HEAR distributed almost 4,000 rebates to homes. Funding HEAR is critical to ensuring continued progress toward building decarbonization in WA.
• WA EV Charging Program ($50 million): This program broadens access to affordable EV charging across the state through grants to public entities, Tribes, non-profits, and utilities to build chargers in places that will particularly help those who may not be able to charge at home. The first round of this program ($98.4 million) had a waitlist of $40 million and awardees in almost every county. The current round is for $19.4 million and demand will be much higher than the funds available. Adding funds to this program is a quick and effective way to cut transportation pollution and benefit communities across the state.