Myers points to the California CO2 emission cap and trade costs to consumers. "When the Governor says it’s not a tax and we are not increasing gas prices, that’s simply not accurate," says Myers. "Look, the people causing the extraordinary gas prices are the gas and oil companies, they control the price, not me" Inslee said. When FOX 13 asked the Governor if he plans to tell the people of Washington, that they could expect higher gas prices as a result of the emission tax, Inslee said, "that’s not true, they are not going to see much higher gas prices- maybe even lower than they are today." It’s numbers that tend to justify the Governor’s pennies remarks, but Myer says the Department of Ecology report assumes high gas prices and other variables involved. Instead, it uses potential percentage increases in the cost of fuel. Unfortunately, the report doesn’t provide an apples-to-apples comparison. In 2030, he predicts it will be $0.80 a gallon for gas, and $0.97 for a gallon of diesel. He says the added cost to a gallon of gas will increase as the cost of carbon emissions goes up. Myers concluded the cost of carbon offsets at a rate of $20.60 per metric ton of carbon emissions would equate to $0.46 for every gallon of gas produced. "If you look at his own department's study and the intent of his law, it is to drive gas prices up, so gas use goes down, and we would produce less CO2," says Myers. "Potentially, not all of this would be passed off to the consumer and what they would (pass on), would be pennies."īut Myers used the same Department of Ecology report that the Governor cites for his pennies remarks, for his analysis. We are talking about pennies," the Governor said. "This is going to have a minimal impact if any. The cost of gas has been slowly falling over the last few weeks, with the national average now at $4.77 per gallon, but prices could spike again. Inslee told FOX 13 that the cost to consumers will be minimal.īiden touts spending plan as economic solution for unstable gas prices Critics claimed it would have led to higher gasoline prices with the cost of ‘cap and invest’ passed to the consumers by the companies who have to pay it. Washington voters have twice rejected similar cap and invest initiatives. "The political rhetoric is to call it ‘cap and invest’ because they take the taxes, and then they spend it," says Todd Myers, the Environmental Director for the Washington Policy Center. The law is similar to ‘cap and trade’ that’s been in effect in California since 2013. "We in Washington now have one of the best caps and invest bills, which will actually give us cleaner air and invest dollars in building jobs in the state of Washington," Inslee told FOX 13 News. The law is supposed to take the money from those companies paying to emit CO2 gas and put it into the state's general fund spending.ĭrivers will also be paying the country’s second-highest gas tax of $0.49 a gallon when the law goes into effect. The law requires businesses and organizations that produce more than 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year to obtain emissions allowances for their total emissions. That program will set a statewide cap on greenhouse gas emissions, and then gradually reduce the cap to match the emission limits set in state law, Ecology said. Under the Climate Commitment Act passed earlier this year, the Department of Ecology must set up a cap-and-invest program by 2023. The Climate Commitment Act passed by the Democratically-led legislature and signed by the Governor in 2021 goes into effect on Jan.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |