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These voters could approve the first U.S. carbon fee. Big oil is spending millions to defeat it
(Inside Climate News, 29 Oct 2018) If the Washington state measure wins, it could begin a U.S. movement to make the price of fossil fuels reflect their cost to the planet.
Washington state voters will decide this November whether to approve the nation's first carbon fee in what has become the most expensive ballot initiative fight in the state's history and a referendum on the oil industry's political clout.
If the measure passes, it will show that even as the federal government turns its back on the climate crisis, one state's voters can make a difference.
If it is defeated, that will affirm the oil industry's ability to marshal money for support to deflect challenges to its continued dominant role in fueling the nation's economy.
The fee would be charged to large carbon emitters and fossil fuel sellers based on the carbon content of the fuels sold or used in the state. The costs would come back to residents, mainly at the gas pump, as companies pass those charges on to their consumers. Estimates of the annual cost to each Washington state household range from $159 to $440 in the first year of the fee.
By itself, that's not enough to wean the nation, or even the state, off fossil fuels. But Washington's Initiative 1631 could begin a movement in the U.S. to make the price of fossil fuels reflect their cost to the planet—a step economists believe would be the most effective market mechanism to reduce greenhouse gases.
Inside Climate News, 29 Oct 2018: These voters could approve the first U.S. carbon fee. Big oil is spending millions to defeat it
