(Originally Posted on The Plan Washington Website)
With the announcement of Governor Inslee’s cap and trade greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction plan, Washington residents may be wondering who the state’s top emitters are. The Carbon Pollution Accountability Act projects 130 facilities and fuel distributors will be affected — those that are responsible for more than 25,000 metric tonnes of GHG. Current law requires emissions reporting for “Facilities that emit at least 10,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases per year in Washington… or …Suppliers of liquid motor vehicle fuel, special fuel, or aircraft fuel that supply products equivalent to at least 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year in Washington.”
The graph below uses EPA FLIGHT data to reveal who is most likely to be directly impacted by the proposal. It includes all facilities (minus fuel providers) that registered more than 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases in any year: 2010, 2011, 2012, or 2013.
Data Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2014.