Tribal leaders stand up to corporations on climate change

Wednesday, September 19, 2018  

Ballot measure backed by tribes faces opposition from energy industry
By Kevin Abourezk

Tribal and state leaders in Washington say they will ramp up efforts to get a ballot initiative passed that would hold corporations accountable for climate change after learning petroleum industry leaders recently invested an additional $5 million to stop the initiative.

Initiative 1631 would force corporations to pay fees for the pollution they produce. This summer, a coalition of supporters managed to get 375,000 signatures from Washington residents to put the initiative on the ballot on November 6.

“We’re very excited about the campaign, and the next 40-plus days we are heading right into the heart and meat of our campaign,” said President Fawn Sharp of the Quinault Nation.

In June, the Quinault Nation and other Washington tribes joined with other leaders of color to establish a political action committee called the First American Project to support I-1631.

Thomas Wooten, chairman of the Samish Nation, said multinational fossil fuel companies this week invested an additional $5 million to fight I-1631, bringing the amount spent by the petroleum industry to fight the initiative to $15 million.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washing) said out-of-state oil and gas interests have invested 99 percent of all funding to fight I-1631 so far.

“The fact that big oil is fighting us so hard tells us why it is so important for us to do everything we can to support the initiative,” she said. “They want to protect their bottom lines.”

Supporters of I-1631 plan to hold a rally starting at noon on October 17 outside the Lacey, Washington, offices of the Western States Petroleum Association, a lobbying organization that represents petroleum companies in the six western states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Dave Archambault, former chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, will be the event’s keynote speaker.

Jayapal said more than 250 organizations representing people of color, tribes and scientists support I-1631 and she is concerned their interests may be overrun by massive investments from out-of-state petroleum companies.

Thank you @billmckibben for your inspiring & hopeful words last night!

If YOU want to make the greatest impact you can to ensure clean air, better health, good jobs & show how WA can lead this planet to a brighter future, sign up to volunteer https://t.co/WISCtRLpON #yeson1631 pic.twitter.com/F2rJqCbI0R

— Yeson1631 (@yeson1631) September 19, 2018

Sharp said petroleum interests fear the initiative will become a tipping point in America and that other states and communities will pass similar laws designed to hold petroleum polluters accountable for climate change.

“It’s going to trigger widespread policies across this country,” she said.

If it passes, I-1631 would levy a $15 per ton fee for carbon emissions created by large carbon emitters beginning in 2020. That amount would rise by $2 per ton each year and would reach roughly $55 per ton by 2035, adjusting for inflation.

The initiative seeks to reduce emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels, and 70 percent of the money raised would be invested in clean energy, transportation and efforts to preserve water and forests.

In 2016, Washington voters rejected a similar proposal, I-732, that would have implemented a $62 per ton fee by 2035.

Like I-732, I-1631 likely would lead to higher prices at the gas pump, as high as 15 cents per gallon. However, supporters say corporate polluters could pay the costs of the initiative purely from their profits if they wanted to do so.

Matthew Randazzo, the executive director for the First American Project, said he expects the additional $5 million raised to fight I-1631 will be used for television advertising.

However, he said those who support the initiative will continue to spread the message of its importance in helping fight climate change.

“We’re on the right side of history,” he said. “People in Washington know climate change is real. We need to take practical steps to protect ourselves and undo the damage that has been done.”

Tribal leaders step up to hold corporations accountable for climate change (June 25, 2018)