Study for Union of Concerned Scientists shows Washington state can benefit from cleaner fuels

In California, Washington state can reduce emissions from its transportation fuels and make them up to 11 percent cleaner by 2028, according to “Washington’s Clean Fuels Future,” an analysis completed by independent research firm Cerulogy and commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

The state legislature is soon expected to consider a bill modeled on last year’s House Bill 2338 that would require petroleum refineries and fuel importers to reduce the average carbon intensity of the fuels they sell in Washington by 10 percent of 2017 levels by 2028. Similar programs exist in California and Oregon. Refineries and fuel importers could reduce carbon intensity by either blending low-carbon biofuels into the gasoline or diesel they sell, or by purchasing credits generated by providers of lower-carbon fuels, including electricity, renewable diesel and renewable natural gas.