Inslee fights to save landmark climate law

By Mike Baker and Coral Davenport / © 2024 The New York Times Company

EVERETT — Long before the League of Conservation Voters embraced him as the “greenest governor” in America, Jay Inslee had written a book about climate change that called for a clean-energy revolution that would be the equivalent of the Apollo space program in commitment and innovation.

But Inslee’s visions for advancing some of the world’s most ambitious climate policies repeatedly ran into the realities of politics during his 12 years in office in Olympia. Even in a largely liberal state where residents cherished the environment, legislators were reluctant to get on board. In 2018, voters rejected a carbon tax Inslee had championed.

It wasn’t until last year that Washington became the second state in the country to implement a landmark law capping emissions, requiring businesses to pay for the right to generate large quantities of carbon dioxide.

Now, as Inslee prepares to leave the governor’s mansion at the end of his third term, he is helping lead the fight against a ballot initiative, well-funded and fiercely fought, that would repeal Washington’s climate law.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/inslee-fights-to-save-landmark-climate-law/