"The industry-backed measure to protect fossil gas looks to have received enough signatures to appear on the ballot in November."
"In the latest industry-backed effort to stifle the clean energy transition, a Washington state initiative aimed at preventing statewide and local bans on fossil gas is likely to appear on voters’ ballots this November. Last week, supporters dropped off more than 500,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office. If 324,500 of those signatures are found to be valid, the measure will qualify for a statewide vote.
The initiative arrives as states and cities across the country crack down on fossil gas by introducing outright bans, tweaking building efficiency codes, and tightening air quality standards for appliances. Environmental advocates say that Washington’s ballot measure is just the latest example of the nationwide backlash from fossil fuel industries and other interests facing an existential threat from the shift to clean energy.
“Special interest groups that have a vested interest in maintaining the gas system see that policies and technologies are moving away from their product,” Caitlin Krenn, climate and clean energy director at the nonprofit Washington Conservation Action, told Canary Media. “They’re getting desperate and trying to do whatever they can.”"
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