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We paying among the highest prices for gas, but the reduction in carbon emissions will be minimal.
Washington state’s 2021 Climate Commitment Act (CCA), although high-minded in spirit, will do nothing to protect the state’s economy and environment from the effects of climate change. But what the CCA is already doing is burdening state residents and businesses with higher energy costs.
The CCA’s goal is to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 95 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The CCA is part of the Department of Ecology’s claim that the agency is “working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to protect Washington’s economy and environment from the effects of climate change.”
The key feature of the CCA is a program that requires energy-using businesses to purchase carbon “allowances” to offset their emissions from burning fossil fuels (one allowance represents one metric ton of carbon dioxide). Over time, the number of allowances auctioned off will decrease, which will lead to higher allowance prices and will, according to CCA proponents, result in reductions in fossil fuel energy use and GHG emissions.
Continue reading the entire piece here at the HeraldNet
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Jonathan A. Lesser, PhD, is the president of Continental Economics, an economic consulting firm, and an adjunct fellow with the Manhattan Institute.
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