With only hours left in the legislative session, a carbon tax proposal is back on the agenda. You can use our carbon tax calculator to see how much it will cost you. Senate Bill 5971 would add three energy taxes (and a number of other fees): A $15 per metric ton of CO2 carbon tax […]
News
The false promises and high cost of the low-carbon fuel mandate
Imagine a politician bragging about a policy that would reduce air pollution by one percent, ten years from now. Would you be impressed? How about spending $38 to get $1 worth of environmental benefit? What if advocates promised that even though their policy didn’t create the farm jobs they promised last time, this time it […]
Low carbon fuel standard stalls
ESSHB 1110, which would create a statewide low carbon fuel standard (LCFS), has hit a roadblock after it failed to clear an April 9 legislative cutoff date for bills moving through the Senate Transportation Committee, though theoretically it could be resurrected by state lawmakers if it is included in the operating budget. … One cause […]
Low-carbon fuel standard won’t reduce air pollution. So, why do greens want it so badly?
As part of the push to pass an expensive low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS), advocates now claim it will reduce air pollution. Most recently, Carrie Nyssen and Ryan Mello wrote in the Tacoma News Tribune that adopting an LCFS would reduce particulate matter (known as PM 2.5) that is a cause of health problems. Nyssen and […]
Sen. Mark Schoesler: Inslee and friends still haven’t gotten message on carbon fees and taxes
Twice in the past three years, Washington voters decisively rejected efforts to impose carbon fees or taxes in our state: I-732 in 2016 and I-1631 last fall. Despite this clear message, Democrats keep wanting people to pay more for the energy they need, even though Washington already is a national leader in “clean energy” – […]
The high environmental cost of proposed 2019 climate regulation
As a result of the failure to find a compromise on carbon policy over the last six years, the legislature is now proposing a number of regulatory policies to reduce CO2 emissions. Based on the experience of other states, projections show these policies will be expensive and waste resources that could be used more effectively. […]
If you don’t want gas prices to go up, let Olympia know this bill isn’t the answer
The fight against climate change in Olympia appears to be setting many urban and rural lawmakers on opposite sides of the battle, and we fear Eastern Washington may end up on the losing end. While there are several carbon-reducing bills still alive in the Legislature, one in particular is a concern for Colin Hastings, executive […]
Climate proposals need better cost analysis
For Washington to show leadership on climate change and build support for costly new carbon-reduction programs, the state must do a better job explaining how they’ll affect taxpayers. The lack of clarity around costs is painful as the Legislature weighs four different proposals to reduce emissions — a carbon tax, a low-carbon fuel standard, a […]
Researchers: Biofuels mandate may cause more harm than good with plowed-up land
Hundreds of thousands of acres of grasslands and wild habitat in the Upper Midwest have been plowed up to plant corn and soybeans in the past decade because of demand created by the government’s ethanol mandate, according to a trio of academic researchers who argue that federal biofuels policy is causing more environmental harm than […]
New data shows California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard adds 16 cents/gallon to gasoline costs
SEATTLE — A California fuel policy is having a significant impact on the state’s gasoline and diesel costs according to new cost data released by state energy regulators. New data just reported by the California Energy Commission[1] shows the California low carbon fuel standard or “LCFS” now adds 16 cents/gallon to the cost of gasoline and […]