12-11-2018
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Governor Jay Inslee wants to eliminate fossil fuels from the state’s electricity supply by 2045, which drew reaction from recently reelected Republican State Senator Doug Ericksen of Ferndale.
Inslee proposed an ambitious package of legislation aimed a tackling climate change, a month after voters rejected a ballot measure to put a price on carbon pollution, and Ericksen says the proposals would be costly.
“Some studies have showed that this low carbon fuel standard proposal would increase the price of a gallon of gas by up to a dollar, and the hundred percent renewable [energy] idea, which was thrown out in Bellingham because it was too extreme, would lead to 25% increases in home heating costs,” he says.
Ericksen believes Inslee’s repeated carbon tax proposals are part of his potential 2020 presidential bid, as an Inslee-linked PAC is already collecting donations.
“One of my great concerns is that Governor Inslee is trying to use these energy initiatives as his platform for President, and I’m afraid that as he tries to use Washington as a springboard he’ll end up stomping on the people of the state and doing real harm with regards to what we pay for energy, and our job base.”
Inslee hasn’t said definitively that he’s running for president, but insists the people want climate action.