US oil majors are still pouring funds into a fierce referendum scrap in Washington state over proposed a carbon “fee”, even though the prospect of a US environmental levy on fossil fuel consumption appears even more distant under the Trump administration.
As the clock ticks down on the Evergreen state’s 6 November ballot on “Initiative 1631”, BP, Chevron and refiner Phillips 66 and are building a war chest which had swollen to $22.45m at time of press. The measure would set a fee of $15 per metric ton of carbon dioxide fee for greenhouse gas emitters from 2020, rising by $2/t CO2 annually until the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals are met.
