Voters in Washington State have rejected the 2012 ballot initiative which would have established the first carbon tax in the US , while also raising an additional $ 1bn annually within five years . Late last year, Washington state senator Reuven Carlyle predicted that his state’s voters were ready to say yes to a carbon tax. This is the second occasion on which the state ’s voters have rejected such a proposal . James Temple , the senior energy editor at MIT Technology Review , argues that if this solidly Democratic state refuses to support such a measure , it is unlikely to be introduced anywhere within the US at federal level .
Voters in Washington State have rejected the 2012 ballot initiative which would have established the first carbon tax in the US , while also raising an additional $ 1bn annually within five years . This is the second occasion on which the state ’s voters have rejected such a proposal . James Temple , the senior energy editor at MIT Technology Review , argues that if this solidly Democratic state refuses to support such a measure , it is unlikely to be introduced anywhere within the US at federal level .