“You can erase the science, but you can’t erase what people are experiencing.”
“We have no other choice but to continue to move the work forward — to decarbonize our economy and unlock the opportunity that comes with that.”
“We can fight climate change, protect natural resources, and restore Puget Sound — and still grow the economy. Washington has a long history of proving those aren’t competing goals.”
- Casey Sixkiller, Director, Department of Ecology
Washington’s climate agenda is at odds with a wave of Trump administration rollbacks, creating new challenges for state efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expand clean energy and transition to electric vehicles.
Department of Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller said federal actions — including proposals to overturn the EPA’s 2009 greenhouse gas ‘endangerment finding,’ a legal determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health, revocation of California’s clean-car waiver, and elimination of tax credits for electric vehicles and renewable energy — could weaken state policies. “The administration has decided that they’re going to attack the science,” he said. “You can erase the science, but you can’t erase what people are experiencing.”
Despite those changes, Washington is continuing with its Climate Commitment Act, Clean Fuel Standard and plan to phase out new gas-powered vehicles. The state also launched “ZEVergreen” in September, as $7,500 federal EV rebates expired, to examine new incentive options, support lower-income buyers and expand charging infrastructure.
Inside Olympia host Austin Jenkins pressed Sixkiller on claims by critics that state policies have contributed to higher fuel prices and question their effectiveness. The Seattle Times argued that less than 14% of auction revenue goes directly to emission-reduction projects, while the Washington Policy Center has sued over delays in releasing data.
Sixkiller acknowledged the costs of compliance but argued that continued reliance on fossil fuels carries its own economic and environmental consequences. “We can fight climate change, protect natural resources, and restore Puget Sound — and still grow the economy,” he said. “Washington has a long history of proving those aren’t competing goals.”