Questioning Washington State's Commitment to Greenhouse Gas Reductions

Washington State has failed to pass measures needed to meet its ambitious goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions this year. 

"This year’s Legislature did make it an official state goal to reduce production of planet-warming gases by 45% within the next decade and by 95% by 2050 as compared with 1990 levels. The old goals allowed more greenhouse gas emissions to go on longer, and reached a 70% reduction only by midcentury," Katherine Long reports.

Critics say that while the goal-setting legislation from the state shows an acknowledgment of the challenge, legislators have failed to enact policy changes that can achieve those goals. Climate Solutions' Washington director Vlad Gutman-Britten sees the 2020 law-making session as a "comprehensive failure" on climate change action and argues that the few bills that were passed are not enough. 

Governor Jay Inslee’s climate and sustainability senior policy adviser Reed Schuler notes the lack of inexpensive opportunities to reduce emissions. His office supports a clean fuel standard as the most cost-effective strategy to reduce carbon emissions from transportation, a policy Inslee would adopt next year if he remains in office.