May 30, 2023
By Todd Meyer, Washington Policy Center
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 any. Pennies. We are talking about pennies.”
Now, as gas prices have increased rapidly, Ecology staff have quietly scrubbed the agency’s web page of those claims. They also significantly increased the estimated impact of the tax on CO2 emissions on Washington’s economy.
It is the latest example of the failure of the governor and Ecology staff to deal honestly with the impact of the state’s climate policies. Their denial means Washington will continue to pay high costs for relatively small environmental benefit, missing opportunities to reduce CO2 more effectively at lower cost.
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