Washington unseated California this week as the state with the most expensive gasoline. Prices here have been steadily climbing since January, reaching $4.91 per gallon of regular gas on average this week, surpassing the Golden State, the longtime national leader at the pump, according to a Seattle Times analysis of retail pump prices compiled by […]
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Washington law to cap carbon emissions causes higher prices at the pump
STATE LINE, Idaho — Many Washington drivers are heading to Idaho for cheaper gas, as gas stations near State Line are nearly a dollar less per gallon than in Eastern Washington. As gas prices continue to rise, drivers say it’s putting a squeeze on them once again. “It’s horrible. It’s a joke. I just can’t […]
Washington gas prices top U.S. as carbon fee takes hold
Washington has moved past California to have the most expensive gasoline in the U.S., a surge coinciding with Washington’s cap-and-trade carbon fee almost doubling California’s. … Cap-and-trade has added another element to gas prices. Oil companies must buy one “allowance” for every ton of carbon released when their products are combusted. Unlike a tax, carbon […]
Tensions, gas prices rise as Washington state auctions carbon
Washington state’s new cap-and-invest system is raising hundreds of millions of dollars for climate action while pricing emissions at a much steeper cost than California, the only other state with this kind of system. Climate hawks are thrilled that — after years of failed proposals — the Evergreen State has a path to meet the […]
Washington’s carbon fee rises, trips emergency valve to hold down costs
Washington’s carbon fee rose by 15% at the state’s second cap-and-trade auction, the Department of Ecology reported Wednesday, and is high enough to turn on an emergency valve to contain energy costs. Energy companies and investors bought nearly 8.6 million allowances for $56 apiece at the May 31 auction. The price exceeded the $51.90 threshold […]
Ecology quietly scrubs the gas price impacts of CO2 tax from their web page
Even as Washington’s gas prices have increased compared to neighboring states, staff at the Washington State Department of Ecology have repeatedly downplayed the impact of the state’s new tax on CO2 emissions. Last year, when asked about the impact on gas and diesel, Governor Inslee claimed, “This is going to have a minimal impact, if […]
Washington farmers fume over fuel surcharge
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Washington farmers are frustrated over a fuel surcharge they say they shouldn’t be paying. In 2021, lawmakers passed the Climate Commitment Act, which is designed to drastically cut greenhouse emissions through a carbon capturing plan. One key reason the Climate Commitment Act was made into law was that it exempts farms […]
Proposed budget spends more than half of climate funding on expanding government, not climate projects
The Democrats in the State House released their proposed budget and outlined how $306 million of the revenue from the state’s new CO2 tax will be used in the 2023-25 biennium. An examination of the budget line items shows that more than half of the expenditure goes to expanding government functions – planning, permitting, staffing, […]
Bid fails to refund cap-and-trade surcharges to Washington farmers
OLYMPIA — The Senate budget committee Monday rejected a Republican proposal to set aside $32 million to reimburse farmers paying cap-and-trade surcharges on fuel used to transport agricultural products. Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said the Inslee administration has failed to keep cap-and-trade from raising farming costs, as was promised in the Climate Commitment Act passed […]
Editorial: Carbon credit auction is a perilous experiment
Anyone who maintains that Washington’s carbon credit mandate will have a minimal impact on consumers need only look at the results of the first auction. The take — $299.7 million — was 50% higher than the state had estimated. Some 6.18 million carbon allowances sold for $48.50 each, the Department of Ecology announced one week […]