Lawmakers enacted Washington’s cap-and-trade system with the understanding that agriculture would be exempt from the increased costs created by the nascent carbon emissions market. But more than a year into the landmark climate law, some farmers and those transporting their goods continue to pay more than they should at the gas pump. This is a […]
Opinion
The costs of WA’s cap-and-trade law are just getting started
When the Legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act in 2021, the fiscal note for the law projected prices for carbon credits starting at $20 and increasing by a dollar or so a year. Instead, prices shot up in this year’s auctions, to more than three times that level. Washington’s carbon credits are selling for prices […]
Editorial: Who causes high fuel prices? Politicians need only look in mirror
A couple of months ago, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee famously said that oil companies alone are to blame for skyrocketing gasoline and diesel fuel prices in his state. “We want to give drivers relief. We want to go to the heart of this problem, which is the greed and avarice of oil companies, who are […]
Washington CO2 price jumps again, reaching 50 cents per gallon
The results of the latest auction of CO2 allowances were announced and the price continues to rise, increasing 12 percent above the amount from just three months ago. The price hit $63.03 per metric ton of CO2, which amounts to about 50 cents per gallon of gasoline and 61 cents per gallon for diesel. The […]
Let’s have an honest conversation about energy costs in WA
As lawmakers adopted the state’s Climate Commitment Act, the business community warned of the price increases it would levy on consumers. It’s simple economics: Raise prices on commodities upstream, and those increases get passed along the supply chain. Public testimony on the Climate Commitment Act, the Clean Energy Transformation Act and other greenhouse gas-reduction policies […]
Opinion | Kris Johnson: To lower gas prices, stop pointing fingers and start fixing climate act
It should come as no surprise to anyone that gas prices in Washington are going up. The Climate Commitment Act’s cap-and-trade program went into effect in January, and by June, our state had earned the dubious distinction of having the highest gas prices in the country for the first time ever. This is no coincidence. […]
Editorial: When it comes to high fuel prices, Washington tries harder
Back in 1962, Avis Car Rental tried to turn its position as the country’s second-largest rental agency into a positive by adopting as its slogan, “We try harder.” A whole ad campaign was adopted carrying various taglines along the theme of “We’re Number 2, we try harder.” We’ve often thought of those advertisements as we […]
WA lawmakers must fix carbon program that’s hiking gas prices
Washington state now has the highest gas prices in the country and there’s no doubt the price at the pump is hurting families. People living in rural parts of the state, especially, can’t change their driving habits on a whim. If they live 20 miles away from town, taking public transportation isn’t an option. And […]
On the road between ‘hogwash and baloney’ on WA’s high gas prices
“The oil and gas industry projections around any of this are halfway between hogwash and baloney.” This was Gov. Jay Inslee, last winter, talking about the prospect that the state’s new climate change policy would cause a significant rise in gasoline prices. “This is going to have a minimal impact, if any. Pennies. We are […]
We Asked for High Gas Prices? — We Got ’em
Washington now has the highest gasoline prices of all 50 states, the Seattle Times reported June 21. The story was broken the day before by the San Diego Union, which offered it as a good-news story: California’s prices were no longer the highest. … The newspaper stories say the cause of the high prices in […]