SEATTLE — Gov. Jay Inslee is exploring a mandate for cleaner transportation fuels — much like California’s first-in-the-nation standard — as part of a broader effort to tackle climate change. He has said he could use his executive power to pass a rule, which has angered some Republican lawmakers. Some questions and answers about a low carbon fuel standard:
Q: What is a low carbon fuel standard?
A: The standard typically requires fuel producers to reduce the carbon content of fuels by 10 percent over 10 years. A fuel’s carbon intensity is calculated from the time it is produced to when it’s burned in a vehicle. Fuel suppliers can usually develop their own clean fuels, mix gasoline with alternative fuels such as biodiesel or ethanol, or buy credits from other companies.
Q: Who is proposing this and why?
A: The governor has been studying the issue but says he has not made a decision yet. He has said repeatedly that more needs to be done now if the state is to meet a 2008 state law requiring carbon emissions to be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020, and even further beyond that.
Q: What are the arguments in favor of it?
A: Supporters say a low carbon fuel standard spurs innovation and stimulates investment in new fuels, reduces pollution, offers consumers more fuel choices and reduces the state’s reliance on petroleum-based fuels. The idea is to lower greenhouse gas emissions from driving, since the transportation sector accounts for 47 percent of the state’s carbon emissions.
Q: What are the arguments against it?
A: Critics say suppliers won’t be able to comply because there isn’t the technological innovation or adequate supply of low-carbon fuels to meet the standard. They say many new fuels are costly or experimental. Without enough supply, this could lead to higher gasoline prices and impact jobs and economy.
Q: How much will it raise gasoline prices?
A: It depends. The state Office of Financial Management released a study last month that found gasoline prices could go up by 2 cents in 2020 to 10 cents by 2026, under one projection. Fuel prices could rise more than 20 cents a gallon by 2026, under another scenario. The report also found that there would be a small, mostly positive, impact on the state economy compared to doing nothing.
A 2012 Boston Consulting study, commissioned by Western States Petroleum Association, however, found that California’s standard could drive fuel prices up by 33 cents to $1.06 per gallon. Republicans have seized on the $1-per-gallon figure.
Q: What’s happening in other states?
A: California is implementing the nation’s first low carbon fuel standard. Fuel producers and supplies must reduce the carbon intensity of fuels by at least 10 percent by 2020.
Oregon adopted a low carbon fuel standard in 2009, but only the reporting requirements have been put in place. The program sunsets at the end of next year, and lawmakers must remove that sunset during the next legislative session for the state to continue the program.
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