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 […]
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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 […]