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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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In Our View: Inslee Awaits Climate Win

'Green Governor' knows it could be some time before Legislature takes action

The Columbian
Published:

While the game isn’t over yet in the 2015 Washington Legislature, Gov. Jay Inslee couldn’t help but glance at the scoreboard last week. Using the occasion of Wednesday’s Earth Day recognition to assess the work of lawmakers thus far, Inslee said, “It’s been an absolute goose egg when it comes to doing anything for the environment.”

So true. The governor’s cap-and-trade proposal, which would charge industrial polluters for the carbon they release into the environment, has been bottled up in committees; his desired low-carbon fuel standard has been scuttled by a “poison pill” from the Legislature; and stricter safety standards for oil-bearing trains have yet to be approved. Thus far, the recommendations from a 21-person panel Inslee convened last year to study ways to reduce emissions have been summarily ignored by lawmakers, and the odds are that the man who desires to be known as The Green Governor might be shut out this time around.

Which leads us to expand upon the sports metaphor. Because while Inslee is losing this contest, like a coach in the playoffs he knows that this is a series rather than one game. Inslee’s approach, while he might not articulate this way, is focused upon winning the war rather than a single battle. “It’s really unfortunate that it came to be seen, by some people at least, through a partisan political lens,” Inslee told The New York Times for a profile earlier this month. “But I do think the ice is breaking.”

That, for Inslee, is the salient point. In putting forth his cap-and-trade proposal, he was fully aware that new ideas can require time to take root. As Bill Arthur of the Sierra Club told The New York Times, “Jay has always had a clear eye on the bull’s-eye, the goal he’s trying to achieve, and also an understanding of what he has to do to get there. He’s smart and savvy enough to know, ‘I’ve also got to speak in a language and speak in terms that can resonate with a larger contingent of people.’ “

Inslee attempted that by earmarking projected revenue from the cap-and-trade program for education and transportation rather than climate or energy projects. To which state Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, said: “It’s just not something that could not work in our state. We’re doing very well (on carbon emissions); that makes it a very tough sell.”

The selling, however, will continue. If not in this year’s special session of the Legislature, then in the regular session next year and the year after that, or at least as long as Inslee is governor.

But in selling his proposals, Inslee must work to win the hearts and the minds of the public. Environmentally friendly policies inherently draw vehement disagreement on both sides of the issue, and Republicans are quick to say that cap-and-trade policies would harm businesses, or that low-carbon fuel standards would cause a spike in gas prices.

There is room for robust debate on the policies and for lessons to be learned from other states, primarily California, that have adopted similar policies. Because of that, Inslee must continue to take the long-term view of his desired goals and eschew the notion of imposing fuel standards or other actions by executive order, as critics have suggested he is planning to do.

Inslee’s desire to reduce Washington’s carbon emissions, to do everything within the state’s power to combat climate change, and to provide environmental protections will require public support, even if unanimity is an unrealistic goal. In the end, the people will determine the final score.

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