Letter: The Climate Commitment Act – Washington’s high octane grift

🎧 Vancouver Resident Calls Climate Commitment Act a ‘Grift’

Vancouver resident Jonathan Hines says ‘we deserve a government that solves problems rather than profiting from them’

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and may not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

As gas prices in Washington surge toward record-breaking heights — hitting an average of $5.38 per gallon this April — drivers from Vancouver to Spokane are feeling a familiar, painful tightening of the wallet. While state officials are quick to point toward global instability or corporate greed, a cold, hard look at the data reveals a more local culprit. Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) is not the environmental savior it was marketed to be; it is an exercise in excessive taxation and a bureaucratic “grift” that is failing the very taxpayers funding it.

The hidden surcharge at the pump

Jonathan Hines

When the CCA was first introduced, proponents were hesitant to call it a gas tax. Yet, the mechanical reality of the “cap-and-invest” program is exactly that. By forcing fuel suppliers to purchase carbon allowances, the state created a massive overhead cost that has been passed directly to the consumer.

As of early 2026, the carbon tax equivalent baked into every gallon of gas in Washington is estimated at roughly 52 cents, with diesel being hit even harder at 63 cents. When you add this to the existing state fuel tax of 49.4 cents, Washingtonians are paying over $1.00 per gallon in state-imposed costs before they even pay for the actual fuel. For the average family, this isn’t just a policy debate; it’s a monthly “climate fee” that competes with the cost of groceries and rent.

5-Why Analysis: Where is the money going?

Using a basic “5-Why” troubleshooting approach, we have to ask: Why are we paying this? The answer given is to reduce CO2 emissions. Why do we need $2 billion a year to do that? To fund “green” projects. Why are these projects so expensive?

This is where the grift becomes apparent. Recent reports have shown that the vast majority of CCA-funded projects in 2025 did almost nothing to measurably reduce pollution. Instead, a staggering 58% of funding for many of these grants was spent on administrative staffing and “overhead.” In some cases, special interest groups and agencies spent 80% to 100% of their grant money on salaries rather than tangible environmental improvements.

Taxpayers are effectively subsidizing a new class of “climate bureaucrats” and activists, while the actual carbon footprint of the state remains largely unchanged by these specific expenditures. We are paying record prices for “claimed” benefits that the state’s own reports have been caught inflating.

The “cost vs. benefit” failure

In the semiconductor industry, we use Six Sigma to eliminate defects and ensure every dollar of input results in a quality output. If we applied that standard to the CCA, the program would be scrapped immediately.

State reports have claimed the cost to reduce one metric ton of CO2 via these programs is around $40. However, independent audits suggest the true cost of some state projects is closer to $395 per metric ton. When the “social cost of carbon” — the estimated damage CO2 does — is valued at roughly $99 per ton, the state is spending nearly four times the amount of the “harm” it’s trying to prevent. That is the definition of fiscal insanity.

A call for transparency and change

The Climate Commitment Act has become a slush fund for Olympia, protected by a veneer of environmental virtue. While the state collects billions, the “common citizen” is left to navigate unachievable housing costs and an affordability crisis exacerbated by these very policies.

We deserve a government that solves problems rather than profiting from them. It is time to repeal the hidden gas tax, return the surplus to the taxpayers, and focus on sensible, high-ROI solutions that don’t require breaking the back of the Washington working class. Our climate deserves better than a grift, and our taxpayers deserve to keep their hard-earned money.

Jonathan Hines

Vancouver