Washington State carbon tax on the verge of failure after the Big Oil campaign

November 7 (Reuters) – The state of Washington is preparing to reject a poll initiative to create the first carbon tax in the United States, a total of about 80 percent of the votes cast on Wednesday morning after an oil industry campaign argued that it would hurt the economy.

The royalty allocation and carbon revenue initiative, known as the Initiative 1631, would have imposed a fee of $ 15 per metric ton of emissions from carbon, increasing by $ 2 a year until the 2035 state – issued emissions target is reached.

With more than two million votes counted on Wednesday morning, the "no" was in the lead with 56.3%.

The Seattle Times and other local media have announced the failure of the measure, although a spokesman for the campaign "Yes 1631" stated that it was not Not ready to concede, there remained about 540 000 ballots to count.

The carbon tax was intended to generate $ 2.3 billion over five years for clean energy and air programs, according to a state analysis. The oil industry is expected to suffer the most because transportation is responsible for 43% of greenhouse gas emissions in the state of Washington, a 2016 report said.

The Western States Petroleum Association raised $ 31.2 million from oil companies and business groups to oppose the measure, the largest state spending to defeat a voter initiative, according to data from state campaign funding.

This has fueled months of TV and digital commercials, as well as flyers and mailers in the state, claiming the fees would drive up energy costs for consumers, small businesses and farms.

Major contributors to the No On 1631 campaign included BP America, Phillips 66 and Marathon Oil Corp.'s Andeavor unit. The three refineries of the state.

Big Oil raised double the $ 15.2 million spent to support the initiative by an alliance of environmental groups and billionaire activists, including Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg.

The great battle reflected the issues of climate regulation. The oil industry fears that new restrictions on carbon emissions will hinder business, while environmentalists fear that a failure to act quickly to end global warming will have devastating consequences for the planet.

Washington is the fifth largest fuel producing state in the country with five refineries. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, these facilities produced about 5.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide last year, which would allow the state to obtain more than $ 83 million in tax revenue. .

(Report by Nichola Groom edited by David Gregorio and Edmund Blair)