(The Center Square) – Despite pushback from the free-market Washington Policy Center think tank, the Washington State Department of Ecology is standing by its official rebuke of the Trump administration’s rollback of federal climate regulations.
“The report grossly understates both the impacts of climate change we already observe in Washington State and the role of greenhouse gas emissions in causing these impacts,” a Sept. 2 letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright from Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller states reads, referencing a U.S. Department of Energy draft report, “A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emission on U.S. Climate,” published last month.
The letter continues: “This so-called ‘science review’ report lacks scientific integrity, ignores current climate impacts on Washington communities and fails to protect Americans from what we know is coming. It is a means crafted to justify a predetermined end. I urge you to withdraw this report as it will only serve to justify increasing greenhouse gas pollution, accelerating climate change impacts, furthering economic hardship, and intensifying extreme weather events on Washingtonians.”
Ecology claims its experts reviewed the U.S. Department of Energy’s report and found “factual errors and inconsistencies with the latest national and international peer-reviewed research.”
In July, Ecology put out a 91-page report on anthropogenic climate change and recommendations for limits on greenhouse gas emissions in Washington.
Todd Myers is WPC’s vice president of research. He recently posted a blog critical of Ecology’s criticism of the Trump administration, noting that the state agency has failed to produce emissions data to prove whether or not Washington is meeting its climate goals.
“By law, they are required to release CO2 emissions data for the state, and they haven’t,” Myers told The Center Square on Tuesday. “Currently, we’re in September of 2025, and the most recent data we have is from 2021. That’s completely useless if you’re a policymaker and trying to determine how we’re doing in meeting our goals.”
As Myers mentions in his blog, WPC has sued Ecology for its failure to release emissions data in a timely manner. The case was dismissed in June.
“The Department of Ecology can find the resources to quickly release this report while claiming they do not have the resources to release accurate and timely emissions data,” Myers wrote in his blog. “The release of this new report makes it clear that Ecology has enough resources to attack political opponents but not to comply with the law and meet their own obligations to address the risks of climate change in Washington state.”
Myers noted in his blog, “According to EPA data, which account for most but not all state CO2 emissions, Washington state’s emissions increased in 2022. Incomplete data from the state also indicate emissions increased in 2022 and 2023.”
Myers doesn’t think Ecology is hiding anything.
“I think that they just don’t care,” he speculated. “They know the policies they want, and they know what they want to do, and no matter what is happening in terms of the actual data, it doesn’t matter. So, it’s just not a priority. But dunking on the Trump administration is a priority. It is political, and it is fun for them. So that’s where they put the resources.”
Myers contends Ecology and the University of Washington repeatedly misstate snowpack data related to climate change.
“Consistently, they have claimed that snowpack is declining, and that’s false. Snowpack as measured by the federal government and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has actually been above normal for 14 of the last 20 years,” he explained.
He argues that if climate change is the existential crisis that Ecology claims, the department should be closely monitoring results.
“So that you can come up with a policy approach that reduces CO2 emissions effectively,” Myers noted. “The fact that they don’t care indicates that their action doesn’t match their rhetoric. They care more about policies and symbolism than they do results.”
The Center Square reached out to Ecology for comment on Myers’ criticisms.
“The Washington Policy Center is conflating unrelated issues. Our report was co-developed with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and is an objective analysis of the best available science,” Ecology Communications Director Andrew Wineke emailed The Center Square. “Washingtonians deserve to know the truth, and we won’t stand by as our federal government attempts to downplay the threat of climate change. As we continue taking action at the state level, Ecology is putting out the most current emissions data available to gauge our progress – a recent court ruling affirmed this.”
