Container trucks that run on diesel fuel line up at the Port of Seattle, which seeks to reach net zero emissions… ( Elaine Thompson / The Associated Press, 2015)

By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter

Washington state’s recently passed carbon-pricing legislation appears to be the nation’s most far-reaching state-level attempt to clamp down on greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s also likely to turn the state into a global testing ground for policy to combat climate change.

State Senate Bill 5126, headed to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk for signing, is designed to help drive down pollution from 2018 levels of about 100 million metric tons to net zero emissions by 2050. That would require huge reductions in the use of fossil fuels in industries, as well as a near phaseout of gasoline and diesel fuel for cars and trucks. Much of the natural gas now used to heat many buildings would likely have to go.

The legislation is the culmination of a yearslong struggle by climate activists who often were not in agreement on how to proceed. The coalition that helped pass it eventually included not only many environmental groups but also powerful corporate players such as Puget Sound Energy and Microsoft, as well as BP, the state’s largest oil refiner, and some tribal governments.

Democrats used their majority control of the Legislature to pass the measure during an intense and historic finale to the 2021 session. Republicans, noting that Washington due to hydropower already has a relatively low-carbon profile, have fought a long-running battle to try to forestall what they view as laws that will unnecessarily push up the cost of energy for Washingtonians.

Rep. J.T. Wilcox, the Republican House minority leader from Yelm, calls it a “regressive tax and crushing blow to working families.”

Related:
Carbon Tax vs. Cap-and-Trade: What’s a Better Policy to Cut Emissions?

The legislation, dubbed “cap and invest” by Democrats and “cap and tax” by Republicans, would require the state’s 100 largest emitters, including refiners, gas utilities and Boeing, to reduce pollution. Some of the emitters would have to pay for the right to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The bill is forecast to raise at least $460 million in the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2023, and at least $580 million annually by 2040. The money would be invested in a broad range of activities that include restoration of marine and freshwaters, forest health, renewable energy, and public transportation. A portion of the money is set aside to assist workers and low-income people transition to a clean-energy economy, and some could be used to help fund the state’s working families’ tax rebate.

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