A proposal to create a low carbon fuel standard program (LCFS) in Washington state has cleared the House Appropriations Committee and could soon land on the House floor for a vote. Supporters view it as one part of an overall clean energy plan to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, which in 2014 composed roughly […]
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Low Carbon Fuel Standard wrong for Washington: Costly, unworkable fuel policy
As part of his proposed 2019 climate agenda, the Governor wants the Legislature to take another run at imposing a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) on Washington, despite it having been rejected twice before and despite it being an ineffective and unsustainable proposal that has been shown to increase gasoline and diesel fuel prices in […]
Low carbon fuel standard’s “hidden” gas tax
With Washington having the third-highest gas tax in the country, critics of a proposed low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) say it would make fuel prices even higher but without the benefits of gas tax revenue in transportation investments. … If approved, the bill directs the state Department of Ecology to set up the LCFS program […]
Research & Commentary: Renewable Energy Mandate Expansion, Carbon-Dioxide Tax Would Make Life Harder for Low-Income Washingtonians
Carbon-dioxide taxes are inherently regressive and disproportionally harm low-income families. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found a $28 per ton carbon tax would result in energy costs being 250 percent higher for the poorest one-fifth of households than the richest one-fifth of households. CBO reports the reason for cost discrepancy is “a carbon tax would […]
New low carbon fuel standard proposed
As with last year, efforts to reduce Washington’s greenhouse gas emissions is prompting several bills as part of Governor Jay Inslee’s “green energy” proposal – and the topic took up much of his State of the State speech. One of those proposals seeks to reduce carbon intensity in transportation fuels through a low carbon fuel […]
Low-carbon fuel has high cost according to supporters
As part of a package of policies to reduce Washington’s carbon-dioxide emissions, legislators are proposing a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) which would decrease CO2 content of fuel using a number of strategies. Most common would be mixing more biofuel with existing gasoline. … Each gallon of gas emits the same amount of CO2, so the […]
What we can learn from Oregon’s low-carbon fuel law
As part of his proposals to reduce Washington CO2 emissions, the Governor included a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS), designed to reduce transportation emissions. Oregon enacted a similar policy recently and it has been cited as evidence that the new restrictions won’t cost much at the pump. When assessing the policy, we need not only look […]