The fate of Washington’s cap-and-trade law, the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), will be decided by voters this November.  Proponents of the law often claim that repealing the CCA would eliminate critical funding to improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk, and make forests more resilient to climate change.

However, these claims don’t square up with how Olympia politicians have spent funds from the Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) Account — the fund established under the CCA for these activities. During the first two years of spending from the NCS account, 72% of the funds have been used on forestry projects that do not reduce net carbon emissions, but harm working families and funding for public services.

Instead of spending CCA NCS funds on real climate solutions that reduce net carbon emissions including reforestation, forest health, and wildfire prevention, CCA funds have largely been spent to close Department of Natural Resources (DNR) forested state trust lands from sustainable timber harvesting, and to purchase private working forests as replacement lands. The result is a net loss of working forests and jobs for Washington.  

Reducing harvests from DNR working forests means we either build with wood substitutes like concrete and steel (“substitution”) or we import wood from elsewhere (“leakage”). Both are bad for our climate and environment. A recent case study co-authored by the University of Washington’s Center for International Trade in Forest Products found that setting aside more DNR working forests would likely increase carbon emissions as the supply of Washington-made wood products is reduced and as carbon sequestration slows in older forests. 

During a Dec. 2, 2023 legislative work session, a career DNR official acknowledged that the CCA-funded set asides were unlikely to benefit our climate — particularly since the private working forests purchased as replacement lands weren’t at risk of conversion away from climate friendly sustainable timber management (i.e., development). Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, who leads DNR, has also pointed out that efforts to shut down more DNR working forests are wrong on climate science.

Under the state constitution and state and federal laws, timber sales on DNR state trust lands generate critical funding for public schools, public safety, health care and other community services, while supporting clean air, clean water, recreational opportunities, and other additional benefits. Sustainable timber management is already restricted on half of all state trust lands in western Washington under the Habitat Conservation Plan developed by state and federal scientists. 

About $23 million of the CCA NCS funds were spent to set aside over 750 acres of DNR state trust lands near Quilcene – the largest closure of working forests in the state. The loss in timber will come at the cost of about 1,300 jobs, hurting working families across the Olympic Peninsula.  This political decision will also cost the Quilcene School District, Quilcene Fire Rescue, the Jefferson County library, and other local public service providers millions in timber revenues since replacement lands won’t reach a commercially harvestable age for several decades. These public entities will have no choice but to layoff teachers, firefighters, and other employees, all while providing zero benefit to the climate. 

Scientists at the local and international level, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), recognize the climate benefits of forest management, timber harvest and the use of wood products. In its 4th Assessment, the IPCC found that over the long-term, a forest management strategy “aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fiber or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit.”

IPCC’s 6th Assessment found that reduced harvest would have the unintended consequence of causing increased harvesting pressure and environmental degradation elsewhere. At the December 2023 COP28 Conference in Dubai, a coalition of 17 countries including the United States announced support to substantially increase the use of timber in construction as a ‘vital decarbonization strategy.’   

Shutting down working forests leads to more imports of wood products, more exports of family-wage jobs to countries with weak labor protections, and increased transportation-related emissions.

Voters will get two chances to weigh in on these policies in November. In addition to deciding the fate of the Climate Commitment Act, Washingtonians will also elect a new Commissioner of Public Lands, which oversees the DNR. Let’s keep Washington a world leader in forestry that provides real climate solutions 

Nick Smith is Public Affairs Director for the American Forest Resource Council (AFRC), a trade association representing the forest sector. With offices in Olympia, AFRC advocates for sustainable timber management on state trust lands to support rural communities, public schools and public services.