Climate energy policy: Flawed narrative - The Seattle Times

Climate energy policy: Flawed narrative | The Seattle Times

Re: “ WA gas prices now highest in U.S.; some experts point to new climate legislation” [June 21, Local News]:

The narrative is that “major polluters like fuel suppliers” should “pay to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.” It is the consumer who burns the fuel to run his autos, trucks, etc., and heat his homes who is the “polluter.” The narrative follows with the notion that the fuel suppliers would absorb most of these compliance costs and as a result the cost to the consumer would be pennies per gallon. This is somehow defensible since oil companies “made $200 billion in profit in 2022.” The oil industry is highly competitive and relatively low margin — in fact the Department of Ecology assumed in its initial proposals the cost would all be passed on. But I get it, the Climate Commitment Act would not have made it if the villain were correctly identified.

The unbelievable result of these climate auctions is they will produce more money than the biennial budget for the entire state highway system, for mostly undefined programs. And the downside — systemic inflation and the fact that the persons most negatively impacted by this tax/fee of at least 50 cents per gallon are the least affluent, the statistical majority of whom rely on their vehicles for their employment choices.

Bill Popp Sr., Bellevue, transportation planning engineer