SEATTLE — Washington is required by law to eliminate or offset all of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But generous exemptions for more than 40 of the state's biggest polluters in a forthcoming carbon market could push that goal beyond reach.
In January, the state Department of Ecology will roll out a cap-and-invest program through which 99 of the state's largest emitters must incrementally reduce emissions or pay to continue burning fossil fuels. While the list will be finalized later this year, as it stands, 41 large emitters will be allowed to pollute at little to no cost for at least the next 12 years.
This is because they were designated, by the state Legislature, as industries particularly susceptible to the fluctuations of regional markets and global trade.
