FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2025
CADF AND WPC FILE SUIT AGAINST STATE AGENCIES FOR FAILURE TO FOLLOW LAW REGARDING CARBON EMISSIONS REPORT
Olympia, Washington — January 22, 2025 — This morning, the Citizen Action Defense Fund (CADF) filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Declaratory Judgment alongside the Washington Policy Center (WPC) against the Department of Ecology and the Department of Commerce after they violated state law by failing to issue a mandatory report that details the total emissions of greenhouse gasses in Washington State for the preceding two years.
These reports are used by experts like Plaintiff Todd Myers, who serves as Vice President of the Washington Policy Center, to analyze whether or not the state is making progress on its carbon reduction goals.
The law requires these state agencies to issue reports for the preceding two years by December 31st. The report that was eventually issued was late and incomplete – it included data for 2020 and 2021, but nothing for 2022 and 2023, despite the clear requirement in the law.
“State agencies have to follow the law like everybody else. They can’t get a pass from the courts for turning in homework incomplete and late,” said Jackson Maynard, Executive Director for CADF. “We are proud to represent WPC and Todd Myers in this, as we want to be sure state agencies play by the rules. This isn’t an issue of resources – as we note in the complaint, the agencies have a combined biennial budget of almost $6 billion. They have the money to do the job. They should get it done or the court should order them to do it.”
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For more information:
Jackson Maynard
Executive Director
Citizen Action Defense Fund
Phone: (850) 519-3495