(The Center Square) – Some farmers and producers in Washington state say they have paid higher fuel prices than they should have under the Climate Commitment Act, or cap-and-trade-law, that went into effect at the beginning of the year.
Per the CCA passed by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2021, Washington’s cap-and-trade program requires emitters to obtain “emissions allowances” equal to their covered greenhouse gas emissions. Similar to stocks and bonds, these allowances can be obtained through quarterly auctions hosted by the Department of Ecology.
The first auction held in February brought in just under $300 million.
The CCA also requires the Department of Ecology to ensure fuel taxes on food production and transportation are exempt from the law, but that hasn’t always been the case, with reports of some farmers and agricultural transportation workers saying their invoices for fuel shot up because of the carbon tax.
“Fuel is a significant cost of farming and fishing both in operating equipment but also in transporting materials and products. The legislature required that all these costs be included in the exemption,” states a news release put out last month by Save Family Farming, an agricultural organization headquartered in Everson.
“Despite the Climate Commitment Act specifically directing them to do so, Ecology delayed setting up any process, then left it to refiners to solve the problem. Now Ecology is blaming refiners for not doing what the Legislature required the department to do.”
The Center Square asked the office of Gov. Jay Inslee, a proponent of the cap-and-trade law, to weigh in on the matter.
“Regulated oil suppliers have no obligation to purchase allowances to cover the emissions from these exempt fuels, and they should not be charging customers for them,” Inslee spokesperson Mike Faulk said in an email.
He went on to say, “The Department of Ecology has provided extensive guidance to help oil suppliers and others demonstrate that these fuels are exempt, and several major fuel suppliers are now applying that guidance and providing the exemptions called for in the law. BP [British Petroleum] recently announced that they have the guidance needed