"Overburdened Communities" with "Vulnerable Populations" In Washington State To Get Billions To Reduce Carbon Emissions -- Or Just To Line Their Pockets?

Washington's "Climate Commitment Act" dictates that dollars flow directly into the pockets of the "community" groups by funding local projects to do ... well, something.

This is my second article taking a look at what is happening in Washington State with its “Cap and Trade” program targeting carbon emissions by taxing industry and giving the money to liberal/progressive/Marxist NGO’s to waste. This examination is done in association with the America First Policy Institute’s Legal Affairs team on the Weaponization of Government.

In an earlier article I first began to explore the impacts of the “Climate Commitment Act” (CCA) in Washington State, a law passed in 2021 to “cap” carbon emissions by various industries in the state. Four times each year the state “auctions” a specific number of “allowances” to emit carbon dioxide, with the the auctions funds being mandated by the statute to be used in a variety of “green initiatives.” The funds are programmed into four identified accounts, and funds from each account go to a variety of programs throughout the state.

One of the four broad categories of spending is named the “Air Quality and Health Disparities Improvement” account. One component of this account includes “Environmental Justice Programs.” On the map above, take note of the purple circles with a “Scales of Justice” emblem — those denote “Environmental Justice Programs” that have been funded with CCA money the past 2 years.

But to fully understand the CCA, you must also understand the companion law passed along with it in 2021 — the “Healthy Environment for All Act” — HEAL. It was signed into law by Washington Governor Jay Inslee on the same day he signed the CCA, and both went into effect on July 24, 2021.

The HEAL Act requires seven state agencies — Ecology, Health, Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and the Puget Sound Partnership — to apply specific “environmental justice” (EJ) principles to all agency actions.

The HEAL Act established the Environmental Justice Council. Members of the EJ Council are appointed by the Governor and advise agencies on incorporating EJ into agency activities.

The HEAL Act’s stated goal is to reduce “environmental and health disparities” among various population groups in the state, but prioritizes what the CCA and HEAL Act call “overburdened communities” that face multiple pollution sources and health burdens. These communities have “vulnerable populations” of low-income, minority communities, Indigenous Tribes, rural, limited English proficiency — and so on. The goals of the HEAL Act it is a laundry list of progressive NGOs fantasies if only they had enough money.

CCA eliminates the question of “if.”

Here is a link to an Interactive version of the map above. By clicking on each icon you can see what the project is, who received the funds, and how much CCA money was provided.

This has all the hallmarks of a pure left-wing grift play. The timing is fortunate for the vast liberal/progressive/Marxist NGO network created during the Obama and Biden presidencies given the Trump Administration’s efforts to turn off the spigot of federal tax dollars out of EPA for all manner of dubious efforts to combat “climate change” — whatever that is defined as today.

But how is this effort “organized” to insure that all the right groups have all the right information about the appropriate kinds of projects that will be approved and paid for with the available funds so these “vulnerable populations” in the “overburdened communities” can get their hands on all that money?

A handful of nonprofit-led efforts provide “targeted capacity building, regranting, or technical assistance” to help smaller community-based NGOs, especially frontline/environmental justice or Indigenous-led groups, access and implement “climate” projects — which have a WILDLY BROAD definition. The main one is an entity called “Front and Centered” — F&C.

Front and Centered is a Seattle–based 501(c)(3) non-profit which is a coalition of smaller, community based organizations representing minority groups, Indigenous peoples, immigrants, refugees, and other lower-income communities. It is focused on what it calls a “Just Transition” away from fossil fuel-based economy toward environmentally sustainable and equitable systems.

It describes itself as a coalition of frontline communities — meaning the NGOs at the grass-roots level in the “overburdened communities” where the money flows down to in order to help them accomplish their “mission” on behalf of the “vulnerable populations” disproportionately affected by pollution, climate change, and environmental health disparities. But in addition to advocacy in the legislature and state government, F&C real function is in coordinating the doling out of CCA funds by working with the grassroots NGOs to create “projects,” assist them in grant-writing, create organizational structures from scratch, assist them to grow and increase their capacity for spending — more and bigger future grants in future years — and providing materials and a curriculum for the NGOs to use in “environmental justice education” and public outreach campaigns — propaganda.

It played a leading role in advocating for passage of both the CCA and HEAL Act, and now it sits at the pinnacle of deciding who gets paid with the funds extracted from Washington industries who have no choice but to purchase “allowances” in order to remain in business and/or expand — or close their doors.

F&C advocates for policies directing climate and environmental funding toward the “overburdened communities” of Washington and emphasizes racial equity and redistribution of environmental benefits. As a coalition it includes dozens of member organizations across Washington, such as community groups, immigrant organizations, racial justice organizations, labor-aligned groups, faith organizations, and environmental groups.

But there is one particularly intriguing page on its website under the caption “Influence Networks” —

“Informational hubs provide a comprehensive look into specific public policy issues and the various influences that work to shape the way each issue is perceived by the public.”

Below is a screen shot of the “Influence Networks” that F&C is involved with:

I don’t even know where to begin. F&C is the non-profit that is the most influential in deciding where CCA funds are spent, and which NGOs favored to receive those funds. The waters they swim in are stunning.

From its own website — F&C was founded in 2015, but traces its roots to 2014, when leaders from minority groups across Washington created “Climate Justice Principles” under a network called “Communities of Color for Climate Justice.” That effort evolved into “Front and Centered” the following year. Here are the “Principles” upon which it was founded — Karl Marx would be proud:

For lack of a better description, I would call F&C a “clearinghouse” — they have information, advice, expertise, funding, management training, staffing, etc., all the things the organizers of a new grassroots NGO lack. They also point the NGO in the direction of the money, show them how to write the grant application, and then how to structure their operations once they have the money in hand.

They are the fertilizer (excrement) that grows the NGO network in Washington state.

One thing that is mentioned NO WHERE I can find on the F&C website — or anywhere in the materials online related to CCA and the HEAL Act — are the “metrics” for evaluating efficacy or accountability by any of these programs with regard for how they spend the money they receive. It’s almost like that is entirely beside the point — getting the money and spending the money is the beginning and end of the exercise. There is no expectation that the spending need ever stop so long as the CCA funds continues to roll in.

But where does F&C get the funds it needs to conduct such an operation?

F&C receives most of its funding from contributions and grants via private grantmaking foundations — and government funding. F&C received funds from the the Biden Administration EPA in January 2025 just prior to the inauguration — part of $1.6 billion in grants to organizations across the country that pursue “environmental justice.” The funding was intended to advance local “projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity.” Well, that’s what F&C is designed to accomplish — and the Biden Administration grant allows F&C to get even larger as the network of NGO’s that comprise its members grows even larger with CCA funds.

Keep in mind, the projects reflected on the interactive map linked above reflect only the first year of spending CCA funds — 2024. The design of the CCA is that “allowances” are sold four times a year so the funding that results is an ongoing stream of revenue that must be spent through community-based NGOs pursuing “Environmental Justice” goals.

It’s the grift that keeps on taking.