Washington state officials say the Trump administration’s rollback of federal climate policies threatens to derail clean-energy progress and billions in planned investments.
Department of Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller warned that federal efforts to overturn the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding” on greenhouse gases and end tax credits for electric vehicles, solar, and wind projects are “attacking the science” behind decades of environmental policy. “You can erase the science, but you can’t erase what people are experiencing,” Sixkiller said on TVW’s Inside Olympia.
Despite federal reversals, Washington will continue its climate agenda, including the Climate Commitment Act, its joint carbon market with California, and the phaseout of new gas-powered car sales. To counter the end of federal EV rebates, Gov. Bob Ferguson and the Ecology Department launched “ZEVergreen,” a state initiative exploring new incentives and infrastructure investments to sustain EV adoption.
Critics, including the Washington Policy Center and Republican lawmakers, argue the state’s programs raise fuel costs while offering limited emissions reductions. But Sixkiller said the long-term benefits outweigh short-term expenses. “We can fight climate change, protect natural resources, and still grow the economy,” he said.
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